Someone setting up an eCommerce business may believe that they’re immune to cyber attacks. A small business owner with an employee base of 10 or 300 people might think hackers will overlook them.
In reality, as long as there are money transactions and online operations involved, bad actors will be lured by your user data regardless of your organization’s size.
Smaller businesses are actually more at risk of ransomware than large enterprises, standing at 43% of all victims of cyberattacks.
Why would hackers target Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)?
- SMBs are low-hanging fruit.
48% of SMBs believe they’re too small to be a target, so they don’t treat security as a top business priority. Additionally, proper IT support is tough to achieve for smaller companies because quality security today, including the tools, talent, and services, is just plain expensive.
Hackers understand this, and they know that statistically, SMB breaches are more successful than attempts at large enterprises because of their lower budgets and lack of resources allotted for security measures.
- SMBs are gateways to large organizations.
SMBs often sell to or partner with bigger businesses and can be electronically connected to the bigger businesses’ infrastructures. While larger organizations are relatively well-protected, tooled out, and harder to infiltrate, the smaller affiliate companies are feasible targets for hackers.
Hackers hit their jackpots, the large organizations’ sensitive data, by slipping through SMB vendors.
Sometimes, the small vendors themselves hold invaluable information.
For instance, there may be a large company that manufactures missiles, a critical product for the national defense of the US. This company may buy missile parts from small companies that make particular secret features. Nation-states would want to get their hands on this type of intellectual property, and the small shop that makes it is far easier to attack than the company that makes humongous missiles.
This logic extends to any product that contributes to the supply chain of the nation.
SMBs affected by breaches or ransomware suffer substantial financial losses and reputation hits, sometimes to the extinction level.
- SMBs are more likely to succumb to ransomware demands than their larger counterparts.
While big organizations can suffer losses to ransomware, small companies can’t.
You’re more likely to succumb to ransomware demands as an SMB because you’d rather pay the $10,000 upfront and continue operations as soon as possible rather than report the incident and wait around to see what happens.
Hackers earn a ton of money from these microtransactions with smaller companies that don’t have robust security systems. A lot of small transactions are easier to gain versus one significant transaction.
In short, SMBs are much more of a target than they think they are.
Why does basic cyber defense feel overwhelming for SMBs?
For years, cybersecurity tools have been too expensive and required highly technical people and extra professional services. Hence, the traditional way of thinking is that only big companies practice decent cyber hygiene.
Cybersecurity is out of reach for 80% of businesses as only prominent companies can afford to purchase, configure and maintain this kind of software priced at tens of thousands of dollars. Furthermore, 35% of SMBs don’t even have an IT or security owner. Security is out of the majority of SMBs’ wheelhouses. We’re at a breaking point in the industry where this has to change.
How can SMBs protect their data from breaches?
Small-to-medium-sized business owners CAN wake up in the morning and know they’re okay.
Here are some time and cost-effective steps you can take to mitigate risks:
- Educate your workforce on security
70% of all cyberattacks use a combination of hacking and phishing scams. Your employees are less likely to fall for phishing scams if they learn about ransomware, phishing, setting up servers correctly, and updating software and vulnerabilities. There are free and paid security trainings available online.
- Reduce the number of cloud applications you use
Minimizing your toolsets is easy and effective in terms of reducing vulnerabilities. Instead of having overlapping cloud applications, choose one that works for each function of your business. For instance, if you’re between multiple different video conferencing systems and want to test them all out, try to stick to one. Limiting applications reduces the number of spaces you need to defend. It would also be beneficial to implement a policy of disabling features you’re not using within various applications.
- Use 2-factor authentication
Colonial Pipeline suffered a ransomware attack because one of its staff members wasn’t using 2-factor authentication when logging in, and their account was compromised. You can easily prevent this type of incident by enforcing either 2-factor authentication or single sign-on through your productivity suite (like G Suite) or investing in a product like Okta.
- Discover ways to monitor your organization
No, we’re not suggesting that you invest in traditional cybersecurity tools and onboard 6-figure-salary tech-savvy hires.
There’s a way to properly secure your organization without the expensive and overly complex tooling. A human-centric, inclusive, affordable, and automated way. A way where machines take care of the monotonous work, so you have the intelligence needed to solve hard problems.
The only thing required from you is an openness to new technologies while the cybersecurity industry changes dramatically to support businesses in a new digital era after 2020’s mass exodus to the cloud.
A platform like Fletch will give you complete visibility into your organization to notice things like if an employee’s account is compromised or if you have an insider threat. When an emerging threat appears in the news, you’ll be able to instantly assess if you’ve been exposed, evaluate the impact if a bad actor has gotten in, and you’ll be informed of what actions to take.
Every day, you will know the full context of what’s going on in your environment, who is involved, and what to do next - on a user-friendly and intuitive platform.
Delve into more detail with Fletch’s CEO and Founder, Grant Wernick, on how to protect your assets as an SMB.
If you are interested in learning more about what Fletch is capable of, join our waitlist today for FREE access. Fletch will launch on September 1, 2021.
