Cybersecurity Risks for Small Businesses: A Guide to the Most Common Threats
Did You Know Smaller Businesses Are at Greater Risk of Cyber Attacks Than Larger Businesses?
Small businesses are common targets of cyberattacks; however, small business owners often overlook this fact, which often means that they do not take adequate action to prevent cyberattacks from happening, and also do not have a plan in place to recover from a cyberattack after they have been hit.
Lack Of Cybersecurity Knowledge
Smaller businesses are far less likely than large businesses to have individuals working for them who know about cybersecurity, which can leave the entire organization vulnerable to cyberattacks. Organizations that do not have sufficient knowledge about the dangers of cyberattacks are less likely to have procedures in place to avoid cyberattacks in the first place and recover from cyberattacks when they happen. Resulting in smaller businesses being hit by successful cyberattacks more frequently and the cyberattacks sometimes causing lasting devastation to the business.
Misconceptions That Cyber Criminals Only Target Larger Businesses
Many small business owners have a misconception that cybercriminals only target larger businesses. There is a good reason why many people think this, too; when small businesses get hit with a cyberattack, it doesn’t make the news. However, when a larger business gets hit with a cyberattack, it is often featured on the front pages. This means that small business owners tend to discount their business as a potential target, which can mean that they do not take adequate actions to protect their business from cyberattacks.
Cost Concerns
Many small businesses may not invest in cybersecurity training for their employees and important cybersecurity tools because they are concerned about the cost of doing so. In any case, the cost of implementing these pales in comparison to recovering from a cyberattack or a data breach. Additionally, businesses that have been a recent victim of a cyberattack can also expect a reduction in customers, as customers are cautious about doing business with that business because they are worried about hackers obtaining their personal information from the attack.
Lack Of Policies And Procedures
Smaller businesses are less likely to have policies and procedures in place than larger companies. This can lead to inconsistencies in cybersecurity practices in the company, as some employees may have some level of cybersecurity knowledge, and others will not. Larger businesses usually have a standardized document that is sent out to new employees that details a set of cybersecurity rules that each employee should follow. Additionally, such documents should provide information on who to contact within the organization to get additional information.
Compliance Focused
Smaller businesses may be overly focused on adhering to cybersecurity legislation such as data protection. Whilst adhering to legislation will help the cybersecurity of businesses, they should not stop there; instead, they should aim to exceed this.
What Makes Smaller Businesses Targets
Your Data
Smaller businesses can hold massive amounts of data as they collect information about their customers; this information is a valuable commodity, and hackers know this! Information such as credit card information, medical records, social security numbers, and proprietary business information can all be sold on the dark web to the highest bidder.
Your Computing Power
Cybercriminals also target individuals and businesses to steal their computing power. This computing power can be used by cybercriminals in what is known as crypto-jacking, which is where cybercriminals steal computer power to mine cryptocurrency. Cryptomining involves computer devices’ processing power being used to authenticate and secure cryptocurrency transactions. Crypto mining uses a lot of computing power, which is why cyber criminals steal the processing power from other people’s machines.
Your Links To Bigger Companies
Supply chain cyberattacks usually start when a cyberattacker targets the weakest link in the chain. If hackers manage to breach the cybersecurity of your company, the cybersecurity of the entire supply chain becomes more vulnerable, which can make it easier for hackers to breach other companies in the supply chain, which may be larger.
Your Cash And Financial Information
Hackers target individuals for financial gain, so why wouldn’t they target businesses in the same way to potentially gain significantly more? The answer is that hackers do target businesses of all sizes for financial gain, meaning businesses could lose out significantly if they are hit with a successful cyberattack. If you have been financially impacted by a cyberattack or a scam, you should contact a fraud recovery professional who will be able to maximize the likelihood that you will get your money back.
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Smaller businesses often underestimate how vulnerable their business is to a cyberattack, ensuring that there are organizational policies and procedures put in place to foster a consistent cybersecurity approach amongst your staff members. It is also important to ensure that such information is easily accessible to each employee who works within your organization to allow them to refer back to this information if they are ever unsure about something they encounter. If your business has lost out financially as a result of a cyberattack, you should contact fraud recovery professionals, who will be able to maximize the chances of you getting your money back.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
