Are You Exposed to Small Business Cyber Threats? Find Out in 5 Questions!

Small business cyber threats are just as serious as the risks faced by larger enterprises. In the experience of the cybersecurity specialists at CyberFlow, their outcome is even more dire. While large companies have the resources to recover after the loss of business and reputation following a cyberattack, almost half of startups and small businesses close down forever.

This is why, as a business owner, you must consider hiring cybersecurity services for small businesses as soon as you open your company. Hackers can afford to launch thousands of attacks, even if they do not always get the ransom or large quantities of valuable data. You, on the other hand, cannot afford to compromise your business reputation when you are just starting to build it.

After many years of working with clients, we have determined a list of just five questions that help us determine whether a company is exposed to small business cyber threats. So, we invite them to answer them truthfully.

1. Are Your Employees Trained in Cybersecurity Awareness?

Can your employees spot a phishing email? Are they aware of the risk of connecting to a public WIFI network? Do they use their own devices to send or receive business documents and data?

These are serious cybersecurity risks coming from inside the company and making it vulnerable to hackers. Without cybersecurity awareness training for small businesses, you cannot hold your employees accountable for their mistakes.

Also, a successful cyberattack is just waiting to happen. So, before anything else, make sure that all your employees understand the risks of cyber threats and know how to recognise and avoid them.

2. Do You Have Security Protocols to Minimize Human Error?

Despite the best training, employees can still make mistakes and open a phishing email. Do you have any proactive measures to prevent them from handing over login data or sensitive information to hackers?

Some of the basic cyber security best practices for small businesses include:

• Using email filters to send phishing emails to the spam folder
• Enforcing multi-factor authentication for all business logins
• Applying browsing restrictions to prevent users from opening malicious websites.

3. Do You Apply Software Patches and Updates as Soon as They Are Available?

Do you have a clear policy for checking and installing software updates and patches? Is someone in charge of this? Yes, this is a tedious task, but one of the most important ones for minimising exposure to small business cyber threats.

As part of our cybersecurity solutions for small to medium sized businesses, we routinely perform this task and make sure that our clients’ software is always up to date. Most of these updates contain patches for various vulnerabilities which hackers can exploit to penetrate your IT systems.

4. Do You Have a Business Continuity Plan in Case of Disaster?

What happens in the worst-case scenario, if a hacker penetrates your systems? Can you isolate the area of attack and minimise the consequences? Do you have a clear communication policy to inform all the stakeholders? Do you have backup copies to restore your data and get back to business in the shortest possible time?

Without these safeguards in place, you may have to shut down your business after a cyberattack. One of the ways in which cybersecurity solutions for small business help you is by creating an action plan for disaster recovery. No matter how reliable your defence systems may be, always have a plan B for the unthinkable.

5. Are You Aware of Your Vendors’ Cybersecurity Posture?

Do you work with vendors who have access to your business software, data, and IT systems? If yes, do you require them to show proof of their cybersecurity policies and solutions?

One of the ways in which you could become the victim of a hacking is through a vulnerable third party who ignores best practices for small business cybersecurity. If one of their devices or systems is infected with malware, it can easily transfer it to your devices.

How many YES and how many NO answers did you get? Irrespective of the number, it is always a good idea to invest in the best cybersecurity for small business and stay one step ahead of hackers.

Contact CyberFlow today and let us keep your company safe from small business cyber threats!