Reviewing Your Small Business Cybersecurity Protection

Just as you review your company’s financial performance on a regular basis to identify opportunities and address potential shortcomings, reviewing your cybersecurity processes and technologies is vital to protecting your small business.

Because cybersecurity threats evolve constantly, every company has a risk that last year’s defenses may not be enough to guard against today’s threats.

Security researchers say a growing reliance on remote work has increased the overall vulnerability of many small businesses, in part because a team member whose personal device becomes infected can easily transfer malicious software into the small business’s technology infrastructure.

Ransomware, a threat in which an organization’s data is encrypted by a hacker who demands a ransom to restore access to the data, remains the most common cybersecurity threat to companies of all sizes.

Small and mid-sized companies account for more than 40% of ransomware attacks and remain a popular

for hackers because they generally have more valuable data than consumers but often lack the sophisticated defenses employed by large enterprises.

Fortunately, there are valuable measures small business owners can review to help reduce their company’s risks.

Review Protection Software

Antivirus, firewall and anti-malware software will form the first line of defense against hackers and fraud attempts. These tools constantly monitor Internet traffic to identify emerging threats and try to prevent similar attacks from reaching your systems.

As with productivity software you may be using, security tools only work if they’re kept up-to-date and installed on all of the devices your company connects to the Internet. Because hackers try to exploit known vulnerabilities, updating your protection software automatically is an important defense measure.

Similarly, it’s important to review whether encryption features are active on any company-owned laptops. If those devices are lost or stolen, hackers will not be able to access valuable data that has been encrypted.

Upgrade Your Authentication

Another important measure is requiring strong passwords and multifactor authentication that, together, make it more difficult for unauthorized users to access your company systems and cloud accounts.

Strong passwords that avoid easily guessed words are an important defense because hackers rely on automated tools that generate passwords rapidly and try to log onto systems. Multifactor authentication blends a strong password with an external device, such as sending a PIN number to a mobile app.

Review Users and Permissions

It’s also valuable to remove any former employees or contractors who may have been granted access to your accounts in the past. Even employees who left on good terms may have used weak passwords that can be guessed and reducing the number of people who are able to access your data shrinks your overall vulnerability.

Check Your Response Plan

If your company has a plan to help it respond to a data breach or security incident, it’s important to review it for outdated information about the employees, customers, and suppliers you plan to notify.

Consider the Cloud

A good way to reduce your security risk is by adopting cloud-based accounts for the tools your company depends on. It’s generally safer to entrust email and file management to an outside vendor that can invest in top-grade security technologies than trying to address emerging threats on your own server and applications.

As these threats evolve and new challenges emerge, verifying your defenses on a consistent basis is an important part of protecting your small business.