There are practical steps you can take to improve your cybersecurity today, including:
- Establish Strong Password Management Practices
- Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Implement The Basic Network Security Controls
- Monitor, Detect, And Respond To Threats
- Keep Software And Systems Updated
- Educate Employees On Cybersecurity Awareness
- Have a Backup Strategy
- Assess Your Security Risks
- Develop an Incident Response Plan
- Create and Enforce Security Policies
Today’s small businesses depend on technology like hardware, software, the cloud, and more just as much as their larger counterparts. Technology keeps small businesses productive, efficient, and relevant. It’s a huge asset—but it’s also a considerable risk.
Learn More: Free Cybersecurity Tools For Small Business
Cybercriminals worldwide can attack and exploit technology to steal money, manipulate data, or cause chaos. Cyber attacks like ransomware are becoming more common and more destructive. As businesses rely on new technology, their cyberattack exposure only grows.
But don’t let the fearmongering messaging get you down.
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Top Cybersecurity Threats Facing Small Businesses
Research suggests that 41% of all small businesses fell victim to a cyber attack in 2023, up from 38% the year before and 22% the year before.
Cybercriminals often target small businesses because they are known to have more lax security and thus are perceived as an easier payday. As a result, the average cost of a data breach to small businesses ranges from $120,000 to $1.2 million.
Improving cybersecurity is a top priority, starting with understanding the most common cyber threats small businesses face:
- Ransomware And Extortion Attacks: These attacks will steal or encrypt data and demand a ransom to restore the status quo. The average ransom paid by small businesses was over $8,000, and multiple payments may be necessary.
- Phishing And Social Engineering: When hackers pretend to be a legitimate company or contact, it’s a phishing attack, which increased over 58% in 2023 from the prior year. Social engineering attacks use more sophisticated methods, which explains why social engineering is effective and ranked as the #1 attack vector in 2022.
- Insider Threats: Employees who enable cyber attacks, whether accidentally or intentionally, are considered insider threats. Preventing insider threats substantially improves cybersecurity; estimates suggest they contribute to 60% of all data breaches.
- Supply Chain Attacks: Cyber attacks may access a company’s data and IT through vendors and business partners. Supply chain attacks have breached major organizations, often by breaching smaller businesses first.
- Vulnerabilities In Small Business Networks: Network vulnerabilities allow hackers to bypass security controls and access sensitive assets, and many small businesses lack the resources for continuous vulnerability management, making them particularly susceptible.
The Consequences Of DIY Cybersecurity
The sad reality is that most of those in the cybersecurity industry have failed small businesses. Their chase for the biggest clients possible has meant finding the right solution for small businesses is complex and too expensive.
Unfortunately, there are only a few solutions to this problem:
- Hire a freelancer online, and hope you can trust them.
- Put anyone with a technology or IT background in charge.
- Try to do it yourself.
Digging deeper into this issue, I posted a LinkedIn poll asking security professionals what they thought was the number one reason why small businesses struggle to improve their cybersecurity posture:
The survey results were unsurprising, with “No Expertise / DIY Security” receiving the majority of votes. In many cases, DIY security means assigning anyone with a technology background to manage security or purchasing ad-hoc solutions that only provide temporary fixes.
Both scenarios pose significant risks to an organization. Lack of expertise can lead to misunderstanding risks and failing to address them appropriately. Meanwhile, using ad hoc tools creates technical debt, ultimately forcing higher long-term costs while leaving risks unaddressed.
10 Best Practices To Improve Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is an ongoing effort involving multiple defenses working together. However, prioritizing investments in areas that make the most impact can be difficult.
To get a better understanding of this landscape, I asked cybersecurity professionals on LinkedIn:
What Is The Single Most Important Best Practice To Improve Small Business Cybersecurity?
With over 30 responses there was some great information. Here’s a few of the highlights:
The understanding that it’s a journey with several stops and full of constant assessment. Also, it’s necessary to take this journey if you want to do business in the modern age. I think this is one of the biggest hurdles (maybe misunderstanding points) for small – especially super small – businesses.
Focus MORE on the fundamentals and NOT the shiny new thing or latest and greatest technology.
Pick a framework, build a program around it. One that is feasible for your business and provides an adequate amount of protection within your budget. Knowing how to prioritize spend::risk is critical.
1. Establish Strong Password Management Practices
Weak passwords are easy to guess, steal, or undermine, and they give hackers free rein to operate inside systems under the guise of an authorized user. Weak passwords are a significant risk, yet we are all guilty of relying on a simple or recycled password.
The basics. The basics are what SMBs mangle the most. Cleaning up accounts and logins. Streamlining password and authentication policies. Understanding basic internal and external risks.
Password managers make using different, complex passwords for each login easy, but more is needed. A password security policy dictates how complex passwords should be and how frequently they should be rotated so there’s no ambiguity and uniform security measures.
2. Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Microsoft reports that more than 99% of compromised accounts don’t enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), making them vulnerable to phishing and brute-force attacks. MFA is very effective at securing accounts from hackers, and even though some users resist the extra step, the benefits of MFA are too great to ignore.
Verify the authenticity of communications… and use MFA!
I am going to pick implementing MFA here.
Those include adopting a defense-in-depth approach with multiple forms of authentication for more robust defenses. MFA may also be required to comply with regulations, contracts, or security policies. Every list of best practices for cybersecurity includes MFA high in the rankings for a reason.
3. Implement The Basic Network Security Controls
Networks are prime targets for cyber attacks. All networks are vulnerable, but the shift to hybrid offices and remote work has made network security management more complicated. At the same time, threat actors have found more advanced and aggressive ways of compromising networks.
The best SMBs can have is an executive champion for security. Without this it can be difficult to get budget on anything. MFA, email security, NextGen AV, EDR/MDR, Back Ups, and IR plan all takes $. Those are top of my list to identify, stop, and recover from an attack.
Small businesses require multiple types of network security: email security, anti-virus/anti-malware, firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and Wi-Fi network security. Above all, they need a network security plan to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated effort that can scale or adapt at the same pace as networks.
4. Monitor, Detect, And Respond To Threats
It’s the centerpiece of Cybersecurity: looking for attacks, spotting inbound threats, and responding to stop or minimize the damage. Perfect prevention isn’t possible.
Learn More: Why Continuous Security Monitoring Is A Requirement
Instead, businesses must be equipped to see and stop threats as consistently as possible. That’s challenging for any business, especially for smaller companies with fewer resources.
The attacks never stop, and neither should your security efforts. Constant vigilance is the only way to catch attacks before they become catastrophes.
Treat cyber security as you would any other operational risk. You lock your doors? Lock your digital workspace too. You’ve got a roller door? Sounds like a second factor to me. You put your most crucial paperwork in a safe? Don’t leave your essential digital files wide open either. You’ve got an alarm and CCTV? Sounds like you already understand the need for detection, alerting and activity logs.
Many businesses today are shifting to managed XDR to improve cybersecurity without the cost and complexity of monitoring, detecting, and responding to threats themselves. A service provider uses an extended detection and response (XDR) tool to catch more threats, such as malware and then uses proven methodologies to respond effectively.
5. Keep Software and Systems Updated
Software vulnerabilities and system exposures leave the windows cracked for hackers to sneak in. However, as the IT infrastructure grows, even in small businesses, the number of weaknesses to find and fix becomes difficult for any business to manage. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), attackers find what’s vulnerable at record speed.
I’m going to throw out vulnerability management and the first vulnerabilities that should be seriously looked at are in IAM especially if they’re using cloud services…
I will add that small business owners often have a habit of allowing accounts to use unnecessary ie excessive permissions. Limiting permissions is a step that should be included into the vulnerability management process.
Vulnerability remediation is a two-pronged effort. First, continuous scanning is required to find new or overlooked vulnerabilities before attackers find them. Second, automating vulnerability management ensures that patches get installed as quickly as possible wherever necessary.
6. Educate Employees On Cybersecurity Awareness
As many as 90% of data breaches are caused by human error. That means employees are one of the biggest cybersecurity risks. It also means that educating and improving employees’ awareness can improve cybersecurity as much or more than any other measure.
Gain an understanding of what your security culture is currently. It may be great, it may be terrible but every organization has a security culture. Once you know where you are at, then you can start influencing it in to strengthen the overall posture.
For SMBs, besides the basics, I would say focus heavily on educating all employees about cyber security measures and how they must deal with possible security threats.
Security awareness training should apply to every employee, from executives to interns. It should happen regularly and cover critical topics like recognizing phishing, secure internet, and email usage, and BYOD policies. Done well, education and training not only reduce incidents but create the most robust defense of all: a culture of cybersecurity.
7. Have A Backup Strategy
Most small businesses can only operate with access to their data. That access can disappear due to an attack or accident. When disaster strikes, as it inevitably will at all companies, data backups ensure this vital resource can be recovered quickly, easily, and entirely.
Your backup strategy is even more critical than the backups themselves, which outlines where, when, why, and how data is stored. Plans ensure that backups aren’t subject to security issues. Automated backup solutions can similarly increase the odds of things going smoothly.
8. Assess Your Security Risks
Most security vulnerabilities are hidden until they get exploited. Without a concerted effort to find and analyze these risks, there’s no way to know they exist. Those risks might be present in the technology, security plans and policies, software supply chain, or insider threats.
Learn More: How To Conduct A Security Risk Assessment
Risk avoidance may be the biggest win when it comes to small businesses. Do you really NEED public facing APIs, queries, logins, etc? A simple contact form is all most small businesses need for the lead funnel. Run some targeted local ads with positive social media interaction, and you’re pretty much set.
Most security vulnerabilities are hidden until they get exploited. Without a concerted effort to find and analyze these risks, there’s no way to know they exist. Those risks might be present in the technology, security plans and policies, software supply chain, or insider threats.
9. Develop An Incident Response Plan
When an incident occurs, every second counts and the response must operate like a well-oiled machine. The pressure of the moment makes this more difficult, as does inexperience since incidents are (usually) rare.
Build, train, and test a plan for a breach at 3am on Sunday before the biggest day of your business year and when you arrive at the office, a media truck is out front waiting for an interview.
An incident response plan spells out each person’s role and responsibilities, along with everything else it’s essential to know and do during a breach. Plans keep the response focused and organized. Likewise, tabletop exercises can help the incident response team gain valuable practice.
10. Create And Enforce Security Policies
People won’t choose strong passwords, turn on multi-factor authentication, use a virtual private network, or install software updates unless required. Security policies require it while specifying what people should do in common security scenarios.
The basics, and establishing a precedent that policies aren’t just pieces of paper covered in words to shove in the back of a drawer to ignore.
The basics are the most important. Unless you have the discipline to execute on basic blocking and tackling, everything else is lipstick on a pig. Don’t take basic as easy. This is difficult stuff because it takes time, discipline and courage. Once you have policies, inventory, risk tolerance, the next steps fall into place rather easily.
Information security policies reflect the company, its technology, and its business goals. Some are strict about what data to encrypt and when to install patches, while others are lax. What matters is aligning the policies to the company rather than using one-size-fits-all policies.
Emerging Trends In Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity evolves constantly in response to new cyber threats and emerging technologies. Some of today’s biggest trends include:
- Cloud Security: Almost half the data (47%) stored in the cloud is sensitive information, and as cloud adoption keeps climbing, cloud attacks do, too.
- AI and ML in Threat Detection: Automation can reportedly detect threats 50% faster than humans, driving strong interest in automated threat detection.
- Zero Trust: More than 60% of companies now use a zero trust framework, where privileges and access are strictly controlled to slow the spread of cyber threats like ransomware.
- Outsourcing: Companies will increase spending on cybersecurity services by more than 25% between 2023 and 2025, trying to stay ahead of hackers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Improve My Cybersecurity Posture?
You can improve your cybersecurity posture by systematically following best practices for Cybersecurity while committing to continuous improvement.
What Makes Cybersecurity Difficult?
The size and complexity of modern IT, combined with the sophistication and determination of modern cyber attacks, make it difficult to address every risk.
Do Small Businesses Need Cybersecurity?
Yes, because every small business uses technology and depends on data that would cause significant financial losses if it went offline due to a cyber attack.
How Do You Write An Effective Cybersecurity Plan For Small Businesses?
An effective cybersecurity plan begins with cataloging all IT, exploring its threats and risks, and then planning cybersecurity measures to address each risk, starting with the most likely or damaging.
How Can Cybersecurity Be Improved?
You can improve cybersecurity culture by giving users at all levels the training, time, and tools to improve cybersecurity, then make expectations clear and hold people accountable for mistakes.
What Is A Good Cybersecurity Strategy?
An effective cybersecurity strategy is scaleable, adaptable, or accelerated to reflect changes to the IT infrastructure or threat landscape while minimizing risks and damages.
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