Did you know that 60% of SME’s who experience a cyberattack will go out of business within 6 months of being targeted? That being said, senior decision-makers at small businesses might still feel that they are unlikely to be attacked and, therefore, do not take adequate measures to protect themselves. It’s a sad fact, but cybercriminals are becoming more ruthless and sophisticated every day, with new developments in malware posing more risks to your business than ever before.
Thankfully, there are steps that you can and should take as an SME owner to ensure that your business is as safe and secure as possible. Starting with . . .
Training your employees
Unfortunately, many cyberattacks can happen as the result of an error or mistake made by one of your own employees. It is all too easy to fall victim to an impersonation email, but it can result in cybercriminals being able to steal money, sensitive data, and intellectual property from your business. That is why it is so essential that you invest in proper training for your employees so that they know what red flags to look out for that could indicate a cyberattack.
These include:
- Very slight difference in email addresses
- Requests for large or urgent payments
- Emails from unknown sources
Enlisting the services of an IT support company
If the worst does happen and your company does fall victim to a cyberattack, then it is crucially important that you have an IT support company on hand to help you recover as quickly as possible. Digital attacks are currently costing businesses, on average, $200,000, with the average attack going unidentified for a whopping 101 days. Just imagine the amount of damage a cybercriminal could do to your business in 101 days before you even realized that you had been targeted.
Ensuring that you have both a strong data backup plan and disaster recovery procedure in place can mean the difference between your SME going under and living to fight another day.
Using passwords to protect your data
Of course, nearly all businesses use passwords to help protect their data, but are you using them effectively? To ensure your password procedure is successful in protecting your business, follow the below tips:
- Ensure you utilize password protection for all your devices, smartphones, tablets, PCs, and laptops.
- Use strong and hard to guess passwords to protect your accounts and Wi-Fi
- Use two-factor authentication for susceptible data accounts
- Create memorable but unpredictable passwords
- Train your employees on how to manage multiple passwords
- Always change all default passwords
Ensuring any mobile devices are safe
With an increase in remote and flexible working, many employees carry out their working tasks on their smartphones. Therefore, it is vital that they are aware of the importance of keeping these devices safe when they are using them outside of the office.
Ways to keep mobile device safe include:
- Ensuring that any lost or stolen phones can be tracked, locked, and wiped if necessary.
- Making sure that all your apps are regularly updated
- Making sure that all the operating systems on your device are up to date
- Not connecting to unknown Wi-Fi hotspots
Of course, you cannot 100% prevent your business from falling victim to a cyberattack, but you can put the necessary security and backup measures in place to ensure that you are as protected as possible and that you have a fighting chance of recovering from the damage caused.
