Small-to-medium-sized businesses and large enterprises may seem worlds apart, but they face many of the same cybersecurity threats. In recent years, cybercriminals have increasingly targeted SMBs because they have smaller budgets and less in-house expertise for protection. Thankfully, there are several things SMBs can do today to get more from even the most limited security budget.
And, no, we aren’t talking about cutting corners. Far too often, SMBs cut the wrong corners, which ends up costing them more in the long run. It’s a matter of taking a smarter approach to security. Here are five smart approaches to take:
- Prioritize – Every business has specific areas or assets critical to its core operations. Seek the input of valued staff and team members to determine what these are. Is there certain data that would be catastrophic if it was lost or stolen? If hackers compromise a network or prevent access to certain applications, how disruptive would it be to daily business operations? Focus on the most likely risks, not theoretical ones that “could happen.”
- Develop and Enforce Policies – Every SMB needs to implement a security policy to guide employees on appropriate and inappropriate workplace behaviors regarding network, systems, and data security. Simply drafting this document isn’t enough. Employees must be held accountable if they fail to adhere to the policy. Such policies should be updated regularly to reflect new technology and cultural shifts, like the rise of social media or the BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) movement.
- Education – Ongoing end-user training must be provided. Many security breaches occur because employees fail to recognize phishing schemes, open emails from unknown sources, create weak passwords, and don’t take proper precautions when using public Wi-Fi on personal mobile devices also used for work.
- Take to the Cloud – Running applications and servers in-house is costly. Leveraging the cloud today allows SMBs to cut costs while strengthening their security. Cloud operators typically have built-in security features, relieving SMBs of maintaining security themselves. Many Managed Service Providers (MSPs) offer remote monitoring, maintenance, and security tools, making IT security even more accessible.
- Don’t Aim for Perfection – There is no such thing as perfect security. Striving for perfection is expensive and can be more costly in the end. Improving protection and response is a better allocation of funds. It can take a hacker months to figure out your systems. Quickly detecting their presence and mitigating any damage is more realistic and cost-effective than trying to create an impenetrable system.