Your Small Business Guide to Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention
Most small business owners don’t spend a lot of time thinking about cybersecurity. While it might seem like your small business is safe from disastrous security breaches and cases of fraud, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, small businesses tend to be particularly vulnerable to these security threats!
A cyberattack can cost you more than money. Dealing with the fallout of a security breach or fraud case creates a lot of stress and can divert your attention from important day-to-day activities that keep your business moving forward. And a serious data breach can even harm the reputation of your brand. Below, Sophisticated Cloud will explore some steps you can take to mitigate the risk to your business, as well as how to recover if it happens to you.
Is Your Small Business at Risk?
Small businesses are incredibly susceptible to financial crime, fraud, and cyberattacks. Hackers and identity thieves target small businesses because their security systems are far less sophisticated than those of larger companies.
While budget limitations are part of the reason for this, many small business owners just aren’t aware of their risk or how to reduce it. To the untrained eye, fraud can look like a legitimate business interaction. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities can be equally hard to spot. The good news is that it is easy to educate yourself and implement security practices that will protect your business from major security issues, even on a small business budget.
Establishing a Secure Business Foundation
Whether you are launching a new business or looking to protect an existing company against threats, start by securing your basic infrastructure. For example, CyberCamps recommends using firewalls to block unauthorized traffic to your network and secure applications containing sensitive business data. When it comes to website hosting, look for secure cloud hosting if you don’t have the resources to store your business data on-site securely.
It’s also important to ensure that your apps and websites are built securely. If you’re building and hosting your website on a website builder, choose a platform that includes a free SSL certificate to encrypt sensitive customer data. A trusted web designer like Sophisticated Cloud can also provide additional guidance.
It’s also important that you secure the devices you and your employees use to access your business data. Mobile devices are particularly susceptible to security risks, and if you allow your employees to work on their own devices, you have even less control over the security of your sensitive data. Something as simple as a single employee working on a public wi-fi connection in a coffee shop could leave your business vulnerable to a data breach. Use a staffing agency to find a cybersecurity/IT professional who can guide you through how best to protect and secure your network, your devices, and your employees’ devices.
How to Spot Fraud and Security Vulnerabilities
Knowing how to recognize security and fraud issues is your next best line of defense against attacks. Phishing attacks, for example, can be hard to identify if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Often, scammers will send texts or emails that look like they're coming from a company you trust, just to trick you into entering your personal or business information on a fake website. Make sure you and your staff know how to spot, avoid, and report phishing emails.
Unfortunately, employees may be less willing to report suspected fraud. CFO Daily News explains that workers don’t like speaking up against fraud for fear of retaliation, but there might be some other reasons for their silence, as well. For example, business cultures that value results at all costs can dissuade employees from whistleblowing. Managers need to create an environment in which workers feel comfortable reporting fraud.
Training for Management and Employees
Training is a great way to ensure your small business team can work together to prevent fraud and cyberattacks. Training programs will teach your team what to look for during work, but also in their off time, so they can avoid creating security risks for your business. Your training plan should include topics like phishing and spam attacks, creating strong passwords, problem reporting, proper device management, remote work safety, and an acceptable use policy (AUP) to outline use restrictions on company networks and software.
Fraud prevention training is also important. It will help your employees spot red flags and ensure they feel comfortable reporting incidents to management. Fortunately, many of these training programs are available online so they’re easily accessible to remote teams as well as in-house employees.
How to Recover from Fraud or a Data Breach
Cybersecurity breaches can happen to even the most secure businesses. While the threat of a cyberattack may keep you up at night, businesses can and do recover from these issues. The key to a successful recovery is to be prepared before the attack occurs. With a great recovery plan in place, you won't have to pay a ransom to unlock your data or suffer the losses associated with significant business downtime.
A great disaster recovery plan consists of a few key elements. Start by documenting the potential risks that could harm your business and listing the steps you will need to take to recover from each scenario. Backing up critical business information is an essential part of disaster recovery planning. The best backup solution includes cloud storage and automatic backups, so you can always restore your files when disaster strikes. Thankfully, many managed hosting providers include automatic daily website backups and one-click restorations to make this as easy as possible for business owners.
Running a small business in the 21st century comes with many benefits. The ability to run a business entirely online, produce highly targeted marketing material, and engage with consumers all over the world has opened up incredible opportunities for today’s entrepreneurs. But this same technology leaves you vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks and fraud issues. Get your prevention plan in place today!
