Cybersecurity for small Business

 Hi Guys and welcome to the last post I will be posting under this blog!

This week I am talking about cybersecurity. It is actually very topical at the moment as my college was cyberattacked a few weeks ago. It is going to take over two months for them to resume normal operations like working Wi-Fi

Cybersecurity is the protection of computer systems, software & networks from unauthorised access. It is of growing importance - There are over 2000 cyberattacks daily (Varonis, 2024).

Cybercrime cost businesses 8 trillion in 2023 (Embroker, 2024). 

Cybercriminals have started to target small businesses as they are easier targets with less developed security measures. In 2021 46% of attacks were on small businesses & successful attacks caused 60% of small businesses to go out of business within six months. (SentinelOne, 2022). 

Common threats come from phishing, malware, ransomware, Unsecured networks & weak passwords.

The two weak links:

1. Employees
2. Remote connection

• Employees are a weak link for small businesses and are responsible for 88% of incidents (Sjouwerman, 2023). 
• The rise of people working from home has given rise to the risks associated with personal devices & public/private Wi-Fi rather than secured on-site company Wi-Fi.

(Sjouwerman, 2023)

Small businesses should work with government agencies - such as the Local Enterprise Office in Ireland to develop a robust strategy.

They should then foster a learning environment so staff will take the issue seriously & then provide adequate training. They should also be proactive rather than reactive as it is cheaper to pay to prevent a cyberattack than it is to deal with the consequences of one. See More: Proactive vs Reactive

Small Companies can improve their security by mandating the use of Multi-factor authentication for all remote logins. Additionally, Virtual Private Network (VPN) systems should be used to encrypt communications.

Affordable solutions are out there for small companies:

Plugins such as Wordfence help protect company websites from attacks & offer packages tailored to small businesses. Check this out! : 

Thank for for reading my last blog - I have enjoyed writing them over the last few months and engaging with fellow bloggers 😀