How important is cybersecurity to your small business? For many organizations, implementing a comprehensive security solution is an after thought or neglected entirely. In today's threat landscape however, cybersecurity is no longer an option, especially for SMBs. According to Verizon, the median cost for a successful ransomware attack is $26,000 but can go as high as $2.25 million. This type of monetary loss could be a matter of life and death for a small-medium sized business.This is why cybersecurity should be a budgetary priority for every SMB in 2023 and beyond.
There are multiple factors that go into determining the cost of a data breach for an organization. As previously mentioned, the financial burden of a successful ransomware attack or data breach can be catastrophic for many businesses. However, money isn't the only thing these companies need to be concerned about. Extended downtime can grind business operations to a halt, resulting in increased financial loss and decrease in productivity. The reputational damage that a cyber attack can incur on your business will also directly impact business. No one wants to work with the company that is known to mishandle or lose customers personal data. Additionally, many industries may be held legally responsible for any sensitive data lost or released by external attackers. Many compliance frameworks require a certain level of security in order to be considered "compliant" and a data breach may open your organization up to litigation. Essentially, your organization has a lot to lose in the event of compromise.
Small-medium sized businesses often face threats with the same level of sophistication as enterprises do but with even less resources. Many of the biggest attack vectors and security exploits that large business face are just as prevalent in the SMB space.
Here are some of the biggest threats that your SMB may have to face:
Social Engineering
Quite possibly the biggest threat to any organization, social engineering can topple an organization with one simple click. This form of attack involves the manipulation of users into taking a desired action such as clicking on a malicious link, sending over login credentials, or in some cases giving remote control over to a bad actor. The most common way these attacks are implemented is through phishing. Bad actors will pose as a trusted peer or figure of authority in order to trick a victim into giving away information. Phishing scams are primarily sent out via email, but can also be delivered through SMS messages, phone calls, or social media impersonation.
Social engineering relies on human fallibility, and can often succeed despite having the most advanced firewalls, email filtering services, or other technical controls. Oftentimes, the weakest link in a company are the humans.
Ransomware
As the name implies, ransomware is a form of attack where bad actors will exfiltrate data or gain control of a businesses IT systems and hold them for ransom. While phishing may an attackers "foot in the door", ransomware is how the real money is made. These attackers will steal, encrypt, and then threaten to publish or destroy sensitive data from their victims if their monetary demands aren't met. According to IBM and Ponemon, the average cost of a ransomware cost for businesses with less than 500 employees is $2.89 million. This is a steep cost for many SMBs considering there is no guarantee a business will even get their data back.
Denial of Services Attacks (DDoS/DoS)
Direct denial of service attacks or DDoS attacks are when attackers flood a victims servers with requests in order to overwhelm their systems and shut them down. If attackers send thousands upon thousands of requests to a companies website, the server will eventually malfunction and be overwhelmed by the intense resources required. These attacks are typically not financially motivated as they don't directly benefit the attackers. DDoS attacks are primarily used to disrupt business operations and deny service to consumers. However, a DDoS attack may be a precursor to a larger, more direct attack or a smokescreen to distract the victim from a more legitimate threat.
Knowing what SMBs face and the consequences of a successful attack, what should small-medium sized businesses budget for? Firstly, it's important to realize that cybersecurity isn't just a piece of an organizations overall IT budget. Cybersecurity should be treated as its own category with its own financial needs. That being said, what should this budget include?
Consistent Security Assessments
Every organization should implement consistent and comprehensive security assessments to root out any vulnerabilities or gaps that need to be addressed in an organizations security posture. These assessments should include both passive and active probing of your business that assess your current security controls and where you may be lacking. Additionally, your security assessments should include any controls or specifications required to be compliant with any of the regulatory frameworks that many industries have to abide by. In most cases, including HIPAA and NIST 800-171, a yearly or bi-yearly security assessment is required!
Security Awareness Training
The best way to defend against social engineering and protect your organization from phishing attacks is to have every employee undergo consistent security awareness training. This training should help educate users on what to look for in a social engineering scam and how to respond. However, this isn't a one and done process. Security awareness training should be done consistently to make sure that every employee is up to date on the most recent threats they may have to face when working online.
Cyber Insurance
Cyber insurance is probably a concept that most SMBs don't think about. However, a cyber liability policy is a necessary security control to ensure that your business stays open in the event of a successful cyber attack. Cyber insurance can help cover the financial cost of a data breach as well as offer forensics and remediation resources that weren't previously available. Cyber liability can also cover the cost of hardware replacement and legal fees that may be the result of an attack.
Vulnerability and Patch Management
Investing in patch management is crucial to the lifeblood of any business. Consistently updating and patching the tools, applications, and hardware a business uses to conduct business can help ensure a greater level of security across the board. Vulnerability and patch management should be done in a timely manner and address all assets or systems that are critical to operational success.
CorpInfoTech specializes in providing enterprise level cybersecurity to small-medium sized businesses. We provide managed IT services for many of the security practices listed above including: security assessments, vulnerability management, firewall management, compliance support, and incident response.
You can learn more about our services by reading our whitepapers and other resources:
Managed Firewall: The Security and Compliance Solutions for SME's
V360: Comprehensive Vulnerability Management
CMMC 2.0: Roadmap, Requirements, and Resources
Zero Trust Architecture: A Security Model to Defend Against Potential Cyber Threats
CorpInfoTech (Corporate Information Technologies) provides small to mid-market organizations with expert I.T. services including compliance assessment, cybersecurity penetration tests, and comprehensive business continuity planning services. CorpInfoTech can help organizations, quantify, create, refine, and mitigate the risks presented by business threatening disasters in whatever form they may be disguised.