Cyber ​​Security: A Small Business Guide

According to Internet Live Stats, more than 145TB of Internet traffic occurs every second. As such, the Internet has become a digital Silk Road that facilitates almost every facet of modern life. And just as ancient merchants were sometimes harassed by bandits on the real Silk Road, today’s entrepreneurs can easily find themselves attacked by cyber malcontents who are derailing companies through theft and disruption.

You may not know when an attack might occur, but taking proper precautions can hinder or completely stop a hacker’s attempt to gain access to your network. We’ve compiled information on why your small business may be at risk of a cyberattack and how to avoid a compromising situation with cybersecurity best practices.

Why hackers go after small businesses

According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, 46% of breaches affected small and mid-sized businesses. Amaze? Don’t be. When it comes to starting a small business, new owners have many decisions to make and often leave cybersecurity measures by the wayside. Unless they focus on strengthening their defenses, they may inadvertently leave entry points wide open for hackers. This can be a big problem.

A joint report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of a data breach will increase by 10% in 2021, and Verizon’s data indicates that the cost of 95% of incidents for SMBs will be between $826 and $653,587 dropped What’s more, these businesses often lack the resources to successfully defend themselves against attacks.

Stephen Cobb, an independent researcher and consultant who studies technology and risk, said that small businesses fall prey to hackers in cyber security because they “have more digital assets to target than an individual consumer, but less security than a bigger enterprise.”

Couple that with the cost of implementing proper defenses, and you have a situation primed for intruders. Since security breaches can be devastating to small businesses, owners are more likely to pay a ransom to get their data back. SMBs can also simply be a stepping stone for attackers to gain access to larger businesses.

Cyber ​​attacks to watch out for

Regardless of their target, hackers generally seek to gain access to a company’s sensitive data, such as consumers’ credit card information. With enough identifying information, attackers can then exploit an individual’s identity in any number of harmful ways.

One of the best ways to prepare for an attack is to understand the different methods that hackers generally use to access that information. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of potential threats, as cybercrime is a constantly evolving phenomenon, you should at least be aware of the following types of attacks.

APT: An advanced persistent threat, or APT, is a long-term targeted attack in which a hacker breaks into a network in several phases to avoid detection. Once an attacker gains access to the target network, they work to remain undetected while establishing their foothold on the system. If a breach is detected and repaired, the attacker may have already secured other routes into the system so they can continue to plunder data.DDoS: A distributed denial of service attack occurs when a server deliberately blocks requests is overloaded until it shuts down the target’s website or network system. Inside attack: An inside attack occurs when someone with administrative privileges, usually from within the organization, intentionally misuses their credentials to gain access to confidential company information. Former employees in particular are a threat, especially if they left the company on bad terms. Your business should have a protocol in place to immediately revoke all access to company data when an employee is terminated. Malware: This umbrella term is short for “malicious software” and covers any program introduced into the target’s computer with the intent of causing harm or gaining unauthorized access. Types of malware include viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Knowing this is important because it helps you determine what type of cybersecurity software you need. [Related article: How to Tell if Your Computer Is Infected and How to Fix It]Man in the middle (MitM) attack: In any normal transaction, two parties exchange goods – or, in the case of e-commerce, digital information – with each other. To wit, a hacker using the MitM method of hacking does so by installing malware that interrupts the flow of information to steal important data. This is usually done when one or more parties perform the transaction through an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, where the hacker has installed malware that sifts through data.Password attack: There are three main types of password attacks: a brute-force attack, which involves guessing passwords until the hacker gets in; a dictionary attack, which uses a program to try different combinations of dictionary words; and keylogging, which tracks a user’s keystrokes, including login IDs and passwords. Phishing: Perhaps the most commonly deployed form of cyber theft, phishing attacks involve the collection of sensitive information such as login credentials and credit card information through a legitimate (but ultimately fraudulent) website, often sent via email to unsuspecting individuals. Spear phishing, an advanced form of this type of attack, requires deep knowledge of specific individuals and social engineering to gain their trust and infiltrate the network.Ransomware: A ransomware attack infects your machine with malware and, as the name suggests , demanding a ransom. Typically, ransomware either locks you out of your computer and demands money in exchange for regaining access, or it threatens to publish private information if you don’t pay a specified amount. Ransomware is one of the fastest growing types of security breaches. [Related article: Ransomware Attacks Are on the Rise – Is Your Business Protected?]SQL Injection Attack: Web developers have used Structured Query Language (SQL) as one of the most important coding languages ​​on the Internet for more than four decades. Although a standardized language has greatly benefited the Internet’s development, it can also be an easy way for malicious code to get to your business’s website. Through a successful SQL injection attack on your servers, bad actors can access and modify important databases, download files and even manipulate devices on the network. Zero-day attack: Zero-day attacks can be a developer’s worst nightmare. These are unknown bugs and exploits in software and systems that are discovered by attackers before the developers and security professionals become aware of any threats. These exploits can go undetected for months or even years until they are discovered and fixed.

How to secure your networks

As more companies grow their businesses online, the need for robust cyber security measures grows in lockstep. According to Cybersecurity Ventures’ 2022 Cybersecurity Almanac, global spending on such products will rise to a cumulative $1.75 trillion for the period 2021 to 2025, from $1 trillion cumulative for 2017 to 2021.

Small businesses that want to ensure that their networks have at least a fighting chance against many attacks should be open to installing basic security software.

Antivirus solutions are the most common and will defend against most types of malware. A hardware or software-based firewall can provide an extra layer of protection by preventing an unauthorized user from gaining access to a computer or network. Most modern operating systems, including Windows 10 and 11, have a built-in firewall program. [Consider these five free (and legal) antivirus solutions for small businesses.]

Cobb, the security consultant, suggests businesses invest in three additional security measures along with those more surface-level tools.

Data backup solution: This will ensure that information compromised or lost during a breach can be easily recovered from an alternate location. [Learn how to back up your computer to the cloud.]Encryption Software: To protect sensitive data, such as employee records, client/customer information, and financial statements, businesses should consider using encryption software. Learn more in our small business guide to computer encryption.Two-step verification or password security software: Use these tools with internal programs to reduce the likelihood of password cracking.

As you begin to consider your options and the security measures you want to implement, it’s generally a good idea to conduct a risk assessment, either yourself or with the help of an outside firm.

Cyber ​​Security Best Practices

In addition to implementing software-based solutions, small businesses should adopt certain technology best practices and policies to detect security vulnerabilities. Your IT manager will play a significant role in all of this, so make sure this team member is up to the challenge.

Keep your software up to date. Hackers are constantly looking for security vulnerabilities, Cobb said, and if you allow these weaknesses to persist for too long, you greatly increase your chances of being targeted. Educate your employees. Educate your employees about the different ways cybercriminals can infiltrate your systems. Advise them on recognizing signs of a data breach, and educate them on how to stay safe while using the company’s network. [Learn how to mitigate the damage of a data breach on your business.]Implement formal security policies. Putting security policies in place and enforcing them is essential to locking down your system. Protecting the network should be on everyone’s mind, as everyone who uses it can be a potential endpoint for attackers. Hold regular meetings and seminars on cybersecurity best practices, such as creating strong passwords, identifying and reporting suspicious emails, enabling two-factor authentication, and not clicking on links and downloading attachments in emails. Practice your incident response plan. Despite your best efforts, there may come a time when your company falls victim to a cyber attack. When that day comes, it’s crucial that your staff can handle the fallout. By creating a response plan, an attack can be quickly identified and suppressed before too much damage is done.

The state of cyber security

Even as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated, so do the solutions. There are more than a dozen ways to secure your business devices and network and an increasing number of methods for secure file sharing. Even if you’ve been hacked, you can recover from a data breach. As threats continue to evolve, so will ways to combat them. You should by no means be complacent or take a lax approach to protecting your business, but as the word suggests, cyber security is designed to keep your business digitally safe. So rest assured that if you follow best practices, your company will likely be better off.

Jeremy Bender, Andreas Rivera, Sammi Caramela and Nicole Fallon contributed to the writing and reporting of this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.