As a small business owner, you might be forgiven for thinking that you’re safe from cybercrime as hacking attacks appear to be something that only happen to the larger companies that collect mammoth amounts of valuable consumer data. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. While big businesses tend to make the news more often when they are subjected to a data breach or hacking attack, the truth is that small businesses face the biggest cybercrime risks. Here’s why.
Lack of IT Support
Many small businesses just don’t have the budget for an in-house team of IT and cybersecurity professionals. Unlike the bigger companies that are often a difficult target for hackers due to round-the-clock monitoring and access to experts, small businesses often rely on the most tech-savvy member of staff to manage the entire IT department on their own. And most of the time, this person isn’t cybersecurity trained; they are just good with computers and might know a little bit about it, but not enough to keep cybercriminals out. Outsourcing IT to a managed support provider is the best option for small businesses who want access to big-business level security experts on a small business budget.
Lack of Knowledge
Since small businesses don’t usually end up in the news when they are subjected to a cyberattack, many small business owners start their companies without giving cybersecurity a second thought. You may be preoccupied with building your website, posting content on social media, and providing a great experience to your customers, and securing your business network and devices with more than just the password and antivirus software that you’ve always used might not be at the forefront of your mind. The truth is that many small business owners don’t even realize that they might be at risk of a cyberattack until one happens to them.
Untrained Employees
Chances are that your small business employees were hired because they’re great at what they do. But human error is often behind a lot of data breaches and attacks suffered by small businesses. Phishing attacks, for example, will target a small business’s employees with a message that appears to come from a legitimate source. Without cybersecurity education and training, your employee might not see a problem with opening this message and clicking the links within it.
Weak Data Security
Small businesses are collecting more data than ever before, and it’s usually this data that hackers are targeting in an attack. However, many small businesses don’t put a lot of thought into how securely their data is stored, or who has access to it. If anybody in your company is able to log in and access secure customer data, you could be putting your business at unnecessary risk. Take steps to store data more securely including limiting the number of people who can access it.
Don’t be fooled by the news – while cyberattacks on big businesses might generate more buzz and headlines, small businesses are typically the easiest and most common target for hackers.
HussaiN is a full-time professional blogger from India. He is passionate about content writing, tech enthusiasts, and computer technologies. Apart from content writing on the internet, he likes reading various tech magazines and several other blogs on the internet. Email ID: [email protected]
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