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Cybersecurity basics every small business needs
The handful of protections that stop most small-business attacks — and how to get them in place this month.
Why small businesses get hit
Attackers target small businesses because they are busy and under-protected. The good news: most attacks rely on a small number of weak points, and fixing those changes the odds dramatically.
The essentials
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA). Turn it on for email, banking, and any tool that holds customer data. This is the single highest-value fix for most businesses.
- Email security. Filtering and phishing protection stop a large share of attacks before anyone clicks.
- Device protection. Keep devices updated and protected, and know what is connected to your network.
- Tested backups. A backup you have never restored is not a backup. Test it.
- Least access. People should have the access they need and no more. Offboard leavers the same day.
- Awareness training. Short, regular training makes staff far harder to fool.
The plan that actually gets followed
Do the above in order. MFA and email first, then backups, then the rest. Write it down, assign an owner, and review it when something changes.
If you only do one thing
Turn on MFA for email today. It is the cheapest, fastest, highest-impact protection available to a small business.
Know when to get help
If your accounts are unmanaged, your backups are a hope, or nobody owns security, it is worth a short assessment. It is usually cheaper than one bad day.