The Impact of Cybersecurity Breaches on Small Businesses and How to Prevent Them 

There are few threats to small businesses that are greater than cybersecurity breaches. Every day, thousands of skilled cybercriminals are trying to crack the codes surrounding business control and company data. To protect the physical premises of your business, you may need things like cameras and security personnel. To protect against digital attacks, you need education, protocols, and good software.  

How Cybersecurity Breaches Affect Small Businesses 

You may think that hackers set their eyes on larger prizes and won’t waste their time on a small business like yours. If that’s the case, you may be surprised to learn that 43 percent of cybersecurity breaches involve small businesses. This is because smaller enterprises tend to not have the software, hardware, or employee education programs to avoid being easy pickings for those with malicious intent. 

This is compounded by the fact that larger companies can usually survive data breaches while the devastating effects of a breach can cripple or even sink smaller businesses, making the precautions we’re going to talk about all the more important.  

For one, breaches are costly. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees can expect an average loss of $2.98 million every time. These costs include dealing with repairs, handling disgruntled customers, paying off fines, covering the ransom for ransomware attacks, and more. To add insult to injury, businesses that try and pass these expenses on to their customers via pricing risk losing them to competitors. 

The monetary costs are one thing, but the damage to your business’s reputation may be even more difficult to recover from. Customers may not want to continue doing business with an organization that is vulnerable to data breaches. Plus, IT personnel will need to spend extra time and effort repairing the damage, meaning they’ll be pulled off other projects that could have been expanding your systems and your business in general. 

How to Avoid Breaches 

If you feel that your small business is vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches, here are some tips for protecting your organization on the internet. 

Employee Training 

All of the equipment and software in the world won’t protect your business from cybersecurity breaches unless your teams have a protocol and stick to it. Placing an emphasis on employee training is crucial to ensuring your security in this department. As the common phrase goes, the strongest defensive line of cybersecurity is the employees. Educating your teams about scams, hackers, social engineering, and email phishing should be a top priority when considering your business’s cybersecurity needs. 

Update Software 

You want to make sure that the computers and hardware you’re using are running on the latest patches and are protected by anti-virus software. These products can run scans after updates to find areas that need attention and recommend actions to shore up your cybersecurity. Firewall security also helps you stay safe when browsing and searching the internet, which will also function for remote employees working from home. 

Backup Data 

Just as a rule in general, it’s always a good idea to have a backup of all your important data either on the cloud, on a server, or at least on an external drive. These backups should be made frequently and consistently to make sure that if someone with malicious intent apprehends your information, they wouldn’t be able to hold it for ransom since you’d have a backup located elsewhere. 

Secure Wi-Fi 

Your Wi-Fi should be password-protected, encrypted, and hidden. You can set up your router to stop broadcasting the SSID, which will prevent people nearby from even seeing it in the first place, let alone connecting to it without authorization.  

Control Computer Access 

You’ll also want to make sure that your physical premises are well protected. Controlling who has access to computers and servers can prevent bad actors from secretly installing flash drives infected with malware. This also should be a part of employee training as individuals should always be locking their computers whenever they leave their workstations. 

Consider Mobile Devices 

Controlling computer access on the premises is one thing, but many businesses utilize mobile phones and other devices that are much more difficult to manage. Employees’ personal devices are one thing, but any device used for business purposes should be protected by a password and should have encrypted data as well as the latest security applications to avoid hackers gaining access to sensitive information or systems via an employee’s phone. 

Password Protocol 

Passwords should be long, complicated, difficult to guess, and unique. They should also be changed several times a year. Employees should avoid writing passwords down on sticky notes or keeping them in an unsecured document. Things like multi-factor authentication may seem inconvenient but are critical components to a strong defense against cybersecurity breaches. 

How iNET Can Help 

The world is full of malicious hackers and bad actors. Don’t let your business fall prey to cybersecurity breaches that can cripple your organization. By following these tips, you can take the first steps toward enhancing your security in the digital age.  

Here at iNET, we have decades of experience as a trusted provider of cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. We offer multi-layered security for comprehensive protection. Paired with other procedures like employee education and protocol, our solutions will help you avoid devastating cybersecurity breaches.  

Reach out to us today to see how we can pair your small business with the security measures it needs to operate without fear of breaches.