If you're a small business owner, shielding your company from any cyber attack is essential to keeping your sensitive information safe and should be a top priority. From keeping your employees on track and your business running smoothly, cyber security may seem like one of the last things on your to-do list.
However, keeping your small business safe from cyber-attacks should be priority number one. According to research, a little over forty percent of small businesses experience a cyber attack.
As you continue reading, we’ll discuss some of the best tips your small business can take to keep your company safe from a cyber attack.
Why is Cyber Security Important for SMBs?
When your small business experiences a cyber attack, it can put your money, sensitive data, and your IT equipment at risk. When hackers gain access to your company’s network, they can impose severe damage, such as:
- Gaining access to your customer list
- Accessing customer credit card information
- Your bank information
- Company designs
- And other areas of your property
These cyber-attacks do more than just put your business at risk; while accessing your company, they can also gain access to other companies and third parties. Over the past few years, as remote work has increased, cyber security has become essential for any company to have.
When small businesses operate, they use communication, meetings, and advertising for their business to grow. As a small business, it’s essential now more than ever to protect your company’s sensitive data from unwanted Cyber Attacks.
What Impacts Do Cyber Attacks Have on SMBs?
When your small business experiences a cyber attack, it can have debating and lasting effects. Around sixty percent of small businesses that experience a cyber attack end up closing within six months of a cyber attack. While that is the worst-case scenario of a cyber attack, other situations could happen to your business that include:
- Loss of finances and hacked banking information
- High financial costs to remove cyber threats
- Damage to your company’s reputation when informing customers of a cyber attack against their sensitive information
While experiencing a cyber attack on your small business can be devastating, there are tips you can take to stay safe from a cyber attack.
Tips for SMBs to Stay Safe from Cyber Attacks
Train Your Staff
Employees that aren’t adequately trained in the area can leave your small business vulnerable to a cyber attack. A high percentage of cyber-attacks are caused by employees who aren’t sufficiently trained and unknowingly click on something that could give hackers access to your sensitive information.
When an employee unknowingly opens a fraudulent email, it can expose your small business to viruses. To protect your small business from cyber attacks, you should invest in cybersecurity training for your staff to teach them the importance of spotting phishing emails and using strong passwords.
Risk Assessments
To seal security gaps, your small business should evaluate any risks that can hurt your networks and sensitive information. During your risk assessment, you need to know how and where your data is stored and who has access to that information.
Once you’ve completed your risk assessment to identify threats, you can create a security strategy and make changes as needed. By conducting a risk assessment, you’re ensuring you're taking every measure to protect your data from cyber-attacks.
Have Antivirus Software
To protect your small business from viruses, spyware, and other phishing scams, your company should install antivirus software. When installing antivirus software, you should ensure the software protects your company's sensitive information and can clean devices if you experience an attack. To prevent cyber attacks, you should ensure your antivirus software remains updated.
Update Software
Along with your antivirus software, any additional software that your small business has should also remain updated. When keeping your software updated, some types of software may need to be manually updated, such as Wi-Fi routers.
Backup Computer Files
One mistake small businesses tend to forget is to back up their files regularly. If you experience a cyber attack, your data could be compromised or even deleted. When backing up your data, you should also make sure that the data on your mobile devices, iPads, or tablets are also backed up.
When backing up your files, ensure you have a program that can automatically copy your files. In the event your small business experiences a cyber attack, you can restore all of your files from your backups. In addition, you should also ensure that you store a backup of your files offline.
Encrypt Essential Information
As a small business, you should have an encryption program if you deal with information relating to bank information, credit cards, and other sensitive information. An encryption program will protect your company's sensitive data by converting it into unreadable code.
With an encryption program, if a hacker gained access to your sensitive information, it would be virtually useless.
Keep Sensitive Data Protected
As a small business, another essential tip to keep your company safe from cyber attacks is to limit who has access to your sensitive data. By limiting the number of people who have access to your data, you can minimize the risk of a breach. As an owner, develop a plan that determines who will have access to your data so that proper accountability can be made.
Secure Your Wi-Fi
In today’s modern society, all businesses are connected to Wi-Fi in some fashion. When using Wi-Fi, ensure you're operating on a WPA2, as this is a more secure version. In addition, you can also keep your Wi-Fi network protected by changing your Wi-Fi name.
Have a Strong Password
Another tip that essentially goes along with adequately training your employees is to make sure all of your staff have strong passwords. When making a strong password, it should have fifteen characters and contain a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and a special symbol. The harder you make your password to crack, the harder it will be for a hacker to gain access to your sensitive information.
Have Password Managers
Another tip to keep your small business safe from cyber-attacks is to ensure you have proper password management tools. With a password manager, you can automatically store your passwords and employ a security question needed to gain access to websites or applications.
Install a Firewall
As a small business owner, you should ensure you have a firewall in place to protect your company’s network traffic. Firewalls can block hackers from attacking your network and blocking harmful websites. Once you have a firewall installed, stay alert and keep your firewall updated.
Use a VPN
When your small business has a VPN, it gives your company an extra layer of protection. When your business has a VPN, your staff can access your network while working remotely. This is particularly useful if you’re using the public internet in places like cafes.
Monitor Mobile Devices
When protecting your small business from cyber attacks, it’s also essential to know that your mobile devices can also be vulnerable to attacks. Mobile devices tend to become overlooked when protection is concerned. If your staff is accessing sensitive information from their mobile devices, make sure they password-protect their phones.
Secure Third Parties
Rounding off our list of tips is making sure you secure access to third parties. If you have other business partners, the last thing you want is for their data to also be hacked. Make sure any third-party businesses you associate with are also taking the proper measures to protect their data.
Protect Your Physical Hardware
While hackers like to hack networks from far away, they also can access your physical hardware when given a chance. To protect your small business's physical hardware, make sure you only allow authorized individuals to have access.
These tips to keep your small business safe from cyber security attacks should be implemented at the start of your business and before an attack occurs.
Why You Should Choose CyberLynx for Your Cyber Security Services
With cyber-attacks being more prevalent than ever in our technology-driven world, cybersecurity services are more critical than ever. Having access to cybersecurity professionals is essential to all types of businesses, including small, mid-sized, and large corporations.
Outsourcing your small businesses’ cybersecurity is a cost-effective solution to protecting your business from harmful hackers. Every small business is unique, so every company will have different needs when it comes to protecting their data. At CyberLynx, we offer the following:
- Stay in the Lane Technology
- Intrusion Detection and Response
- Endpoint Detection and Response
- Vulnerability Scanning and Remediation
At CyberLynx, we help companies grow faster and create competitive advantages by having the right technology in an efficient and cost-effective way. We offer various options that can help protect your small business from cyber-attacks.
If you need to find out what cybersecurity services would be best for your small business, contact us and schedule a call today!