Sage Advice About Small Business and Cybersecurity

Cyber-attacks continue to rise and the changes in the way that we work have being accelerated many years due to the pandemic. Small businesses are trying to keep up but increasingly they are being targeted by bad actors. Remote work has made all organizations vulnerable. Small business owners, in particular, need to consider how they will protect themselves. Not sure if cybersecurity should be a focus for your small business? Check out these 5 reasons to make IT security a focus for 2021.

1. Human Error accounts for 88% of data breaches. Individuals are working from home and they are balancing childcare or senior care needs alongside work. As a result of this balancing act, distractibility is becoming more common. In a study by Tessian, “47% of employees cited distraction as the reason for falling for a phishing scam while working from home.”(Tessian)
2. Data breaches don’t just target big businesses. 1 in 3 data breaches in 2020 recorded by Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report were small business breaches.
3. The use of cloud communications and online purchasing tools for SMB’s has increased as a result of the pandemic. Businesses needed to pivot to ensure operations could continue and many businesses did not have the opportunity to fully assess the risks of using the cloud. Cloud cyberattacks increased 250% from 2019–2020.
4. Many small businesses assume that because they are not a large organization their risk for a cyber attack is less. However, cybercriminals recognize that some small businesses are not investing in cybersecurity and they are using them as a way to connect with larger business systems. Small businesses that share information and are part of the supply chain are ideal targets for bad actors. If your small business results in the hacking of a larger business partner, you are not only dealing with the impact of data breaches but rebuilding your reputation with those in your industry.
5. If the above 4 reasons did not get you thinking about protecting your business from cyberattacks consider this statistic from Cybercrime Magazine: 60% of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack.

So what should you do if you are a small business? First, educate yourself. Continuing education short courses and webinars are held by reputable companies such as TechnoEdge Learning. TechnoEdge Learning offers a continuing professional development half-day course for free to help spread cybersecurity awareness. These types of courses can help you to gain knowledge on cybersecurity best practices, identifying threats and learn how to respond to incidents. Don’t just take this training yourself, include your staff. Remember that 88% of breaches are due to human error. Providing training opportunities for your staff to learn best practices and keep them motivated to protect your company data is key to mitigating online risks.

Now is the best time to protect your business. To get started, register today for TechnoEdge Learning’s Free Cybersecurity CPD course. It is also worth considering investing in the long-term growth and development of your staff through the foundational A+ certification training or the more advanced security plus certification and network+ certification training courses.