As a small business owner, your top priority is keeping costs low while supporting business growth. Your IT provider recommends investing in a robust stack of cybersecurity software and owners wonder whether they really need all those solutions.
Small company have limited resources, you may think a fully fledged security stack is overkill, but the truth is that cybercriminals pose a serious threat to all organisations, regardless of size.
Sophisticated bots continuously scour the internet in search of vulnerable access points. If an unprotected server or network is detected, that system becomes a target, whether it belongs to a Fortune 500 company or a small business.
Size isn’t the only misconception. Some business leaders assume digital defences are necessary only if they have valuable intellectual property or sensitive client data. However, even ordinary information can be attractive to hackers if pieced together. Publicly available details about your operations and infrastructure may help cybercriminals send phishing scams, develop other attack strategies or launch attacks against your clients or suppliers. Small companies are appealing entry points for cybercriminals to infiltrate potentially larger partners, vendors and clients through existing connections.
Once inside your network, cybercriminals can bring business to a standstill through ransomware or steal credentials and financial records to exploit elsewhere. Each intrusion damages your reputation, no matter how well or poorly protected you believe yourself to be.
This is why security experts unanimously advise adopting a layered approach. Multiple overlapping safeguards work cooperatively to strengthen your defences at every network perimeter.
By avoiding any of the layers, you create opportunities for hackers to penetrate weaknesses quietly.
It is not that individual tools such as antivirus, firewalls, backups or employee training are unnecessary on their own. Together though, they form a comprehensive security plan while making it much harder for criminals to penetrate your network.
No business owner wants to overspend or overcomplicate operations, but in our complex digital world, the small cost of a proactive layered security approach far outweighs the tremendous financial and reputational damage of a preventable cyberattack.
Partnering with an experienced IT provider takes the guesswork out of building and managing an effective, tailored security program. There is no need to risk your livelihood when help is just a phone call away.
Reach out to us today to discuss a free security assessment and strategy session to make sure your small business is protected, without breaking the budget.