How and why does your small company need cybersecurity

Founder and CEO of Digijaks (a boutique cybersecurity company), Alan W. Silberberg, was invited to contribute to this guest post by Experian. He shares his thoughts on how small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks and some best practices that every small business should implement to protect their operations.

An annual analysis by the Ponemon Institute found that a cyberattack targeted 61 per cent of small firms in the United States in 2017. According to this figure, attacks against small companies in the United States have increased by more than 50% year on year. Security is important for a variety of reasons for small businesses: privacy, customer trust, financial integrity, staff integrity, data integrity, and the long-term viability of the company.

If you are a small company owner, the issue of cybersecurity may seem to be intimidating. However, a fundamental grasp of cybersecurity is deemed essential for operating a business in 2018, especially for businesses with an online presence. Companies that do not have a website, on the other hand, might be very exposed to cyber-attacks.

Assaults launched through email, SMS, voice phishing, insider threat attacks, and in-person cybersecurity attacks are examples of threats to be aware of and avoid. It is also quite probable that small firms will be the target of a reputational assault. Someone uploads unfavourable material about them on social media, websites, and blog posts to undermine their reputation.

A single blog article could not cover all of the cybersecurity tools and procedures accessible to small organizations, and it would be hard to do it effectively. Instead, I'd want to discuss some common-sense security measures that you should put in place for your company and some of the strategies that hackers use when targeting an unwary company.

A two-factor authentication system (also known as two-factor authentication) ensures that only one person may access a computer or other device.

Authentication using two-factor or multi-factor authentication is required for every sign-in, every banking account, and insurance account and should be de facto standard wherever practicable. Using a supplementary password or a 4-digit number to confirm login after your username and password have been submitted is what two-factor authentication is known as in the industry. At the same time, many customers associate two-factor authentication with a post-login SMS message. Many banks and government entities are shifting toward multi-factor authentication or depending on non-SMS delivery methods instead of SMS messaging.

Firewalls

Firewalls are available in various configurations, including solutions designed expressly for mobile platforms. In most cases, firewalls are often used as the first or second point of reaction for all incoming traffic, including regular and business-related data/voice traffic. Firewalls are used to protect networks, devices, or both from cyberattacks, including phishing scams.

Hazardous code insertion, denial of service, data stuffing, viruses, and possibly malicious payloads in documents may be considered malicious activity... The majority of the time, a firewall will perform well when installed on a specific network or device and configured to meet the demands of that particular instance of the firewall. Because firewalls catch and block many specific types of assaults, failing to use one is a rookie error.

Having said that, a clever attacker who uses social engineering, network monitoring, or even network penetration may generate malicious code that can be used to circumvent firewalls and get access to sensitive information. For this reason, even the tiniest organization may benefit from multi-layered cybersecurity measures that provide long-term value.

The types of dangers that a small manufacturing faces compared to the types of threats that a small FinTech firm faces are both distinct and the same at the same time. Various gadgets, use cases, and technological advancements are unique to each sector and must be protected in various ways. On the other hand, all small organisations must apply common sense and certain fundamentals, such as strong password rules, firewalls, HTTPS websites, two-factor authentication, and encryption for both data storage and transmissions, such as through email or the internet.

Cyber attacks on small businesses are rather common.

According to one estimate, social engineering assaults account for more than half of all cybersecurity incursions in some form or another. The term "social media" refers to sites such as Facebook and Twitter and search results and phishing schemes such as email, voice, SMS, and link bait. Reverse social engineering is when someone learns enough about your company to persuade you that they are the ones who can address your issues when, in fact, they are the ones who perpetrated the original hack.

In many different situations, social engineering assaults are possible. For example, in the "CFO Fraud," which is sometimes referred to as the Business Email Compromise scam, one kind of scam is targeted at the CEO or CFO. Alternatively, phoney comments, fake suppliers, and fake customers might be aimed at corporate websites to bombard a small firm with unfavourable feedback and create a hostile atmosphere.

In addition to traditional social engineering efforts, social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook are often used to gather information on who is who and what they do inside businesses. This may be utilized in beneficial ways, but it can also alert attackers to possible entry points.

If someone contacts one of your customer care agents with just enough knowledge about a particular account to request password changes, this is known as social engineering. It might also be a matter of changing the address. While this may be intended for a single user or customer, it has a direct directly impactszation. It may result in a lawsuit, loss of business, or a combination of the two in certain instances.

Even more essential than cyber security is the reputation security of your brand, key workers, and even the owner of a small company. All businesses must pay attention to external assaults that may originate and be carried out via search engines or social media. A small firm's cyber security controls and processes may be current, yet the company may still be vulnerable to reputational harm. Set up Google alerts for your company's name, important workers' names, and your personal name to get information. Search engine results should be monitored for any alterations, often associated with reputation assaults. Set up a social media strategy that instructs staff on how to distinguish between phoney and legitimate accounts and how to identify fraudulent accounts when they appear.

It shouldn't take a cyber-horror tale to convince your organization to spend the time, money, and training necessary to defend your company's information technology infrastructure. It is considered beneficial to discuss with investors, due diligence teams from potential partners, and even with your customers when it comes to protecting the security of their firm. To conduct business with a trustworthy company, or at least one believed to be trustworthy, is something that we all want. A significant incentive exists, in fact. According to recent research, on average, 20-25 per cent of US businesses that experience a data breach lose their customers. A financial institution, health care provider, or insurance provider may see a significant rise in victims.

So don't waste any time and get started. Prepare yourself, your coworkers, and your staff by attending seminars and classes online. Learn about the types of cybersecurity you need and how they might be deployed across your organization's infrastructure. Make no assumptions about your safety. If you think your company is too little or unimportant to warrant a hacker's attention, think again! Start with schooling and work your way up from there. Create a plan of action and further stages after that.