Small businesses often find themselves caught between limited resources and the threat of cybersecurity breaches. To avoid a data breach, here are 7 common Mistakes in small businesses security.
Small businesses often find themselves caught between limited resources and the threat of cybersecurity breaches. Many mistakenly assume that they won't fall victim to cyberattacks or data breaches so they don’t prioritize their security. However, most businesses will experience a data breach.
To help you prioritize your security, here are 7 common mistakes that small business owners make and how to fix them.
Maintaining this perspective is one of the most dangerous mistakes that small businesses make because if you believe that you won’t get hacked, you won’t prioritize your security.
Small businesses are a prime target for hackers because they often lack adequate security. The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report showed that nearly 43% of cyberattacks are on small businesses. This is dangerous for small businesses because most of them do not have the resources to survive a security breach. IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report shows the average impact of a data breach on organizations with fewer than 500 employees is $3.31 million.
Instead of ignoring the threats to your business, be proactive in your security so that you reduce your risk of getting hacked.
To date, employee error is still the largest threat to businesses with 95% of cybersecurity issues traced to human error. Social engineering tactics have continued to expand to over 10+ types of social engineering tactics and techniques including vishing, SMS phishing, and whaling. Each of these tactics has become more sophisticated so that it is increasingly difficult to determine what is legitimate and what is a hacking attempt.
Training your employees on password hygiene, social engineering, data protection, and other security topics is not only part of being compliant with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), but can significantly lower your risk of experiencing a data breach.
Learn more about the PCI DSS and why it’s important here.
Attackers still use brute force strategies to find passwords and hack into a network, so having strong passwords can lessen your chances of getting hacked. Luckily, having poor password hygiene is an easy mistake for businesses to remedy.
Don’t use default passwords, and make sure that you create unique, complex passwords for each login. The PCI DSS suggests using passphrases that include capitals, numbers and symbols.
Use multi-factor authentication when possible and change passwords if there is any employee turnover.
If you don’t update or patch your system and an attacker figures out how to exploit a vulnerability, they can gain access to your system.
Updates and patches usually fix security vulnerabilities.
No one wants to go through a data breach, but it’s essential to plan for one. Having an updated incident response plan will decrease the impact of a data breach, saving you time, money, stress, and even your reputation.
Incident response planning will take work and maintenance in order to be effective. An incident response plan is a documented, written plan with six distinct phases that helps IT professionals and staff recognize and deal with a cybersecurity incident like a data breach or cyber attack.
The six phases of the incident response phases include:
No one wants to go through a data breach, but it’s essential to plan for one. Prepare for it, know what to do when it happens, and learn all that you can afterwards.
Nearly everyone has experienced losing data due to not backing up their technology, and it’s not fun.
Backing up your data and storing data in a place disconnected from your main networks, will be invaluable to you in case of a data breach.
For many small business owners, cybersecurity budgets can be very limited. Restraints like capital time, labor, and money are oftentimes the primary reasons why some small business owners postpone implementing any sort of essential cybersecurity protections beyond the basics. However, ensuring that you have an adequate security budget is an investment. These days it isn’t if you will get hacked, it’s when, unless you have a strong security posture. Even businesses that do everything right can still experience a data breach, but it is far less likely.
Luckily, there are options for small businesses to outsource some of their security.
For example, SecurityMetrics Pulse is an affordable security program for small businesses with limited IT staff that offers an easy-to-use, security platform with an array of services to complement your business needs. Learn more here.
In an age where cyber threats are omnipresent, the security posture of small businesses can make all the difference. By involving certified cybersecurity professionals and allocating the right resources to your security efforts, small businesses can substantially reduce the risk of a cyber breach.
Remember, it's not a question of if, but when, and the right security measures can safeguard your business from potential hazards.
.svg)
