Small businesses underestimate the threat hackers pose to their business. About 87% of small businesses think cyber-criminals will not attack them, when half of them actually experience cyber-attacks. To compound matters, about half of small businesses which experience a cyber-attack go out of business within the next six months.
Hackers love small businesses. Most of them have minimal cyber security deployments in place. The small scale of operations equates to a modest budget, which almost always means an absence of a proactive security policy, let alone deployment of the latest state-of-the-art security measures. Hackers can breach information with relative ease, to steal employee details, customer’s financial information, vendor information, and trade secrets. Worse, they can use the breach as a springboard to steal from the people whose credentials they usurped.
Does the business have a cyber-security plan in place?
While a cyber-security plan may seem a no-brainer in today’s age where cyber-criminals strike at will, the reality is 73% of small businesses do not have a formal cybersecurity plan in place.
Is the data encrypted?
Small businesses would do well to consider FIPS-certified (Federal Information Processing Standard) certified encryption standard. FIPS certification means a certified standard, for compliance with federal government security protocols. It offers an effective trade-off in offering robust protection, without being too costly. Advanced military grade encryption offers higher levels of security, but costs more.
Does the business mobile security?
With the proliferation of mobility, a good proportion of attacks are now carried out through mobile devices.
If the enterprise allows BYOD (Bring your own device), make sure an effective policy guides its use. Install the company’s security software on all mobile devices connected to the corporate network. Users connect mobile devices through unsecured public Wi-Fi, opening up a big hole in the network, for attackers to exploit. To fill the breach, encrypt all sensitive data. If an in-house app store is outside the enterprise budget, make a whitelist of secure and reliable apps, authorized to download.
Does the business take backups?
Small businesses would do well to back up records on a systematic and regular basis. Cyber attackers come in many forms. Ransomware attacks occur when hackers take control of the system and lock it up. They demand money for the decryption key. With a system of backups in place, the enterprise can restore the data and resume normalcy, leaving the cyber attackers in the lurch.
Can your buiness fight againt a cyberattack?
As the adage goes, an offense is the best defense. At times, the best deterrent may be to take the battle to the enemy camp.
No business is safe from a cyber-attack, and all attacks sting. Research by IBM estimates the total expected cost of security breaches in 2017 at over $7 million. A security breach of customer information or internal company information is akin to a train wreck. Disruption of the business would be the least of worries. Public loss of confidence, back-breaking regulatory fines, angry customers spreading venom on social media, and more, could sound the death knell of the business. About 66% of IT professionals are not confident of the ability of their enterprise to recover from a cyber-attack.
Our Smartworks Managed Services program is design to protect your business network and data.
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