Are Small Businesses Learning Enough About Cyber Attacks?
All you need to do is a quick Google search to see that small businesses are the primary target for cyber-attacks over the last half a decade. For a person looking to make money from cybercrime a small business is a perfect target.
- They generally do not employ the correct security measures
- Most small home businesses use a standard home router provided by their ISP
- Small businesses service larger businesses giving attackers a gateway
- They have a lower standard of security in place
Try breaking into a bank’s financial system. With the huge budgets financial institutionshave, not to mention the large sums of money they deal with, it comes as no surprise that these systems are virtually impossible to penetrate. Banks go as far as employing or giving rewards to people that can penetrate their system. Their almost limitless budgets make them hard prey.
On the other hand, small businesses using a home Wi-Fi router are easy to target. All it takes is a computer savvy individual just starting out in the world of cyber attacks to target a small business router. It might take a beginner some time to gain access but imagine someone that has been doing this job for years.
Some of the most common instances of cyber-attacks on small businesses are encryption fraud. A person will find an entry point into the system, find important files that are unsecured, then encrypt them for a ransom. Most of the time the business has no choice but to pay the ransom, which is set just low enough to deter the company owner from hiring a security specialist to fix it and just high enough to put the business in financial danger.
What Can Small Businesses Do to Actively Avoid These Situations?
Online storage of all business-critical files should be a must. Local backups are also a good idea. This way if there is a fire on the property and the local backups are lost, then the files are stored online. If there is a cyber-attack, then all that is needed is the online backup files restored and an upgrade to system security implemented.
Most small businesses do not use online storage or consider using security protection on their internet router. This is understandable because as a small business attempts to grow, every penny counts. However, cyber attackers are aware of this and are increasingly beginning to target those businesses out there that are trying to pinch every penny.
What Are Some Affordable Ways To Protect A Small Business Against Cyber Attacks?
That said, there are affordable ways to make sure cyber attackers are deterred.
- VPN Software
- Central Storage System
- Windows Servers with Active Directory
- Online Storage (Cloud Storage)
VPN software from sites with information such as this one diebestenvpnanbieteris one way to secure all internet data. There are also numerous storage options that can be used. A small business should have a central file storage area on the network. A simple Window server with Active Directory can be used to achieve this. The file storage area can then be backed up onto an external hard drive or tape backup.
In addition to this, the files can be stored online using an online file storage option, which these days is known as cloud storage.
Now the business is protected against cyber theft as well as protected against ransom demands. Furthermore, these steps also help businesses avoid lost data due to other reasons such as faulty hard drives, fire, and other situations that could occur resulting in the loss of critical company data.