Despite what many may think, small-medium sized businesses (SMBs) are at an increased risk of being targeted and successfully infiltrated by advanced cyber criminals. Many may believe that larger enterprises are more enticing due to their large amounts of private data and money to spend, but it is often the smaller companies that find themselves in the cross hairs of threat actors looking to turn a profit.
Why SMBs?
Many business owners may be tempted to think that their small business is a waste of time for cyber criminals and wrongly assume that they will fly under the radar due to their size. Unfortunately, their size is exactly why cyber criminals would want to target them. SMBs often lack the budget, resources, and expertise to effectively implement cybersecurity controls that would protect their data.
In fact, 47% of businesses with fewer than 50 employees have no cybersecurity budget to spend on bolstering their defenses. The unfortunate reality is that cybersecurity is expensive. Many organizations will have to purchase new software, replace legacy hardware, and hire someone (or an entire team) to manage their security. This lack of budget means that the necessary resources are often out of reach for many SMBs. In the event that they do have the budget, they often lack the expertise to correctly configure the necessary controls which in turn creates new vulnerabilities for cyber criminals to exploit. Cyber criminals target these organizations knowing that they will face little to no challenge in exploiting these businesses.
Common Threats to SMBs
Phishing: One of the greatest threats to SMBs is that of phishing. Phishing involves the impersonation of fellow employees, management, or legitimate companies to trick users into revealing sensitive information or installing malware. Often propagated through email, text messages, or voice calls, the attacker will pretend to be a trusted individual or company and ask the victim to either click on a malicious link/document or give over private data such as payroll information and login credentials. This is often the foothold attackers create to gain access to the entire organization.
Ransomware: Once cyber criminals gain access to an organizations systems or data, they will often encrypt it and hold it for ransom. They will then send the victim a message claiming that if they pay a specified ransom, they will give them the decryption key and allow them to retrieve their data. Alternatively, criminals may threaten to release the exfiltrated data on the internet for everyone to see or sell it to the highest bidder on the dark web. These criminals may even hold entire systems hostage, only restoring operability once they've received payment. What is Ransomware blog.
Legacy Software/Hardware: Many SMBs operate on legacy or out of data hardware and software that is no longer supported. These systems are fundamentally flawed and contain vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can easily exploit. Without security updates, devices no longer receive patches that protect against malware and other cyber threats.
Expertise/lack of funding: Most SMBs cannot afford an entire IT staff or security team to manage the organizations systems and vulnerabilities. Many businesses have one or two dedicated IT professionals; however, they often lack the expertise or resources required to defend against advanced threats. Managed IT Service Provider or Managed Service Provider can help.
How Should SMBs Respond?
Small-medium sized businesses have a responsibility to their customers to pursue total cybersecurity and protect their private data. To do this, SMBs must stay knowledgeable on the largest threats they will face and implement the necessary controls. Fortunately, some of the most effective controls are also the most practical.
Your organization must implement complex password policies that force users to create unique login credentials that attackers won't be able to brute force or crack. In addition to complex password policies, multi factor authentication (MFA) provides an alternate form of authentication that protects your applications and accounts even if a password is stolen. Every employee should also undergo security awareness training so that they are aware of the common threats they will face while on the internet and how to address them.
A managed service provider (MSP) can help your organization achieve total security on time and on budget. For SMBs, an MSP is beneficial in providing the expertise, resources, and staff necessary to implement some of the most advanced cybersecurity practices. CorpInfoTech, an MSP located in Charlotte, NC, offers comprehensive managed IT and security services to SMBs looking to improve their overall security posture. Our services include firewall management (xDEFENSE), vulnerability management (v360), security assessments, and compliance aid. These services work together to create a cybersecurity plan to protects against broad and industry specific threats.
Contact CorpInfoTech today to learn more about how our services can protect your organization!
