Cybersecurity for small businesses is often overlooked, which can cost companies customers, trigger data breaches, leak proprietary information, and damage their reputations. A study conducted by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found 73% of Canadian SMBs experienced a cybersecurity attack (malware, phishing, and fraudulent transfers) simply because they were not aware of the risks.
Yet, despite reporting a high number of attacks on small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), only a small percentage (6%) actually believe they are vulnerable. In fact, most are confident they can withstand cyberattacks. However, experts agree that this false confidence stems from a lack of understanding of the full impact.
In this article, we will outline areas your business may be overlooking and explain why cybersecurity must be your top priority.
Why Cybersecurity for Small Businesses (Not Just for Large Corporations) Is Essential
Cybersecurity can be thought of as the alarms and locks on your home. However, instead of keeping intruders out of your house, you are keeping them out of sensitive information in your company.
It involves creating fully secure passwords (locks) and installing robust antivirus software (your home security system). Cybersecurity encompasses the rules and tools necessary for data protection. This system protects things like:
- Personally identifiable information (PII)
- Sensitive data
- Protected health information (PHI)
- Government and industry systems
- Intellectual property
If your business data security lacks adequate protection, it cannot defend against cybercriminals or data breaches, nor can it ensure industry compliance. Furthermore, it involves educating your team on recognizing phishing emails.
What Makes SMBs Particularly Vulnerable
Third-party cybersecurity risk isn’t unique to SMBs. However, they are particularly vulnerable to attack. SMBs are increasingly likely to rely on third-party providers for essential services such as customer help desks, IT support, and database hosting/managed cloud services.
Conversely, larger businesses may control some or all of these factors in-house, thereby reducing dependence on third-party services.
Supply chain complexities also make it difficult for organizations of any size to monitor and identify third-party risks. Yet, smaller companies struggle with it more. They often lack the vast in-house cybersecurity experience, which hampers their ability to manage risk. They may also lack the resources to build a robust IT security team that consistently applies patches and updates.
Common cyber threats SMBs face include third-party data breaches, malware, zero-day vulnerabilities, ransomware, social engineering, and phishing. These attacks can be particularly destructive when every employee can access several different systems and roles.
Threats Your Business May Be Ignoring
1. Ransomware
Hackers are well known to target SMBs, with ransomware the most common attack vector. Ransomware can encrypt your data and lock up your computer, holding your information hostage. To regain access to your data, your company must pay a ransom to the hacker to receive a decryption key.
2. Phishing
Phishing can serve as a gateway for infections and ransomware. It generally tempts a user to click on an email attachment/URL that contains a virus. Common tactics include fear tactics (legal/financial trouble), action required (must update information/payment didn’t go through), fraudulent corporate updates, and more.
Furthermore, they are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Previously, you could spot a phishing attempt from a mile away. The e-mail looked “off” (fuzzy logos, typos, or incorrect addresses). Now, some of them are virtually indistinguishable from the real deal.
What may initially seem like an inconvenience quickly becomes a situation in which your small business experiences a data breach, requiring you to notify affected clients, submit compliance reports, and conduct a forensic review. Lawsuits and fines can result if proper safeguards aren’t in place.
Additionally, if you are in an industry that adheres to strict privacy laws (such as finance or healthcare), a single misstep can ruin your business.
3. Malvertising (malware advertising)
This form involves delivering malware to networks after someone clicks a link that appears to be a legitimate advertisement. Identifying this type of malware isn’t easy because hackers often disguise it. However, advanced malware implementations are becoming better at network detection.
4. Drive-by downloads
This deception installs malware on your network without you knowing. Sometimes, people click on download pop-ups; in other cases, someone unknowingly visits compromised websites.
5. Clickjacking
Clickjacking is similar to malvertising as it hides hyperlinks attached to compromised webpages in a legitimate website link. People are asked to enter personal data, which hackers steal for illegitimate purposes.
6. Software vulnerabilities
Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in your network or popular web platforms (WordPress, file formats like PDF, HTML, and CSV, and Java) to infect your system with malware. Failing to regularly update your software can leave you vulnerable to attacks.
7. Unrestricted external sharing
Some software allows external users to share folders, files, and their network. Unrestricted sharing provides anyone who uses a link to see sensitive information, despite its intended purpose of promoting teamwork.
8. Absent/lacking implementation of multi-factor authorization (MFA)
The best protection for your accounts is MFAs. However, sometimes only the admin account is enabled, while others are ignored or inadequately set up for SMBs. If you are relying on frequently used passwords, they are easy to hack or phish.
9. Lack of policy for conditional access
Conditional access enables companies to enforce regulations (limiting login access) for specific IP addresses. It prevents entry from high-risk locations. An overwhelming majority of small companies do not use conditional access, making each user session highly susceptible regardless of the location.
10. Insufficient data loss protection (DLP)
Robust DLP solutions help identify and stop the improper sharing of sensitive data, such as credit card information or personnel records. Yet, many companies don’t activate them. What results is:
- Sending private emails to people outside of your business.
- Watermarks and access control aren’t used when the person sends sensitive documents.
- No logs, alerts, or ID theft prevention.
How can Connectability help?
Cybersecurity gaps are often subtle. Yet, when your network becomes infected, the results are devastating. By prioritizing convenience over security, many SMBs unknowingly make themselves vulnerable to account takeovers, data leaks, and compliance issues.
However, Connectability can help you identify gaps in your cybersecurity. We are a leading cybersecurity for small business provider in Toronto with over 25 years of experience. Our team is proactive in protecting businesses like yours through advanced solutions, real-time updates, and continual monitoring.
Contact us at 647-560-5529 or [email protected] to see how we can help you. You can also message us here.
