Botnets, cyberthreats, ransomware — the list of cyber threats is endless, and becomes exponentially more severe when a business doesn’t invest in cybersecurity.
A rocky economy has urged plenty of SMBs to slash spending and unfortunately, cybersecurity labour and even software got cut. Although some businesses actually increased investment into software as a more budget-friendly option than hiring agencies or staff, cyberattacks still threaten the SMBs who haven’t.
Hang on — if you were a hacker, wouldn’t you go after the big fish companies, like government ministries, hospitals, or Fortune 500s? These types of businesses aren’t immune to attacks, but they often have bigger budgets to protect themselves, at least compared to SMBs, which cyberattackers predate as easy pickings. Case in point, over 82% of malware attacks are targeted at companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.
According to Mastercard Canada research, cybercrime jumped more than 600% since 2020, but only 16% of the surveyed Canadian SMB owners felt they knew what to do in the event of an attack.
The worst part? Hackers target SMBs for quicker wins, aka faster infiltration than the time it would take to hack larger companies. Plus, even if they don’t use your business and customer personal data themselves, they can simply sell that data for a profit to other sophisticated hackers.
So, what’s a small business to do? Layer on the cybersecurity tactics — pronto. Multi-factor authentication is a bare minimum for all employees.
OpenText Cybersecurity SVP Geoff Bibby reminds us that hackers often look for the weakest link, which is usually a human. He shares a few of his top cybersecurity investment priorities he recommends for all businesses:
- Antivirus protection: Viruses are a tried-and-true hacker attack that’s still prominent today. Since unsuspecting workers can easily share viruses without knowing, they’re particularly dangerous to SMBs. Invest in antivirus protection, and shell out a few bucks for the paid version because it offers more safeguards than the free ones.
- Spam filters: These help divert virus-ridden emails and protect your employees from unknowingly opening or sharing them.
- Endpoint management: Businesses can leverage endpoint management to authenticate and monitor multiple devices, especially for employees in home offices.
- DNS protection: This extra layer of security filters internet content and domains to protect employees (and businesses) from websites that harbour malware.
- Security awareness training: Canada has a cybersecurity talent gap, but education can help. Regular cybersecurity training can keep employees and executives alike aware of recent hacker tactics and red flags to look out for. It’s also necessary to help train employees on constantly evolving cybersecurity SaaS platforms.
- Backup and recovery systems: Even if a hacker succeeds, businesses should have a game plan to recover lost data to avoid further business loss.
Learn more about cybersecurity and tech trends with DX Journal.
