Cybersecurity threats create unique challenges for small businesses. With smaller budgets and potentially weaker defenses, these companies often struggle to protect themselves against widespread attacks. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and this is a great time to step up your cybersecurity awareness training with your team!
Unlike large corporations, small businesses may lack the resources to effectively manage and recover from cyber incidents. This can lead to severe consequences, including financial losses, operational disruptions, and damage to customer relationships.
Understanding the specific risks and implementing cost-effective protective measures can help small business owners strengthen their cybersecurity posture. This article provides practical insights and strategies to safeguard your company's digital assets and build trust with clients through robust data protection practices.
The Cybersecurity Threat Landscape for Small Businesses
Cybersecurity threats impact both small and large businesses, but small businesses are in a different position to protect against them compared to large corporations. Many cyber attacks are indiscriminate, with threat actors sending out millions of emails hoping that a few people will click on them, often not even knowing who is at the other end. Small businesses are at greater risk because they typically have smaller cybersecurity budgets and potentially weaker defenses as a result.
The Consequences of Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses
Adding up many smaller attacks can lead to a big payoff for cybercriminals. Sometimes, a small business could be a gateway into a larger organization if it has a big business as one of its customers. By attacking the small business, criminals could gain access to the larger organization through what's known as a supply chain attack.
The true cost of a cyber attack includes:
- Direct financial losses due to downtime
- Ransomware payments to release data held hostage
- Recovery costs to get everything back up and running
It's a very disruptive process. Large corporations have big budgets for Public Relations and know how to manage the damage. They can do press releases and other things to rebuild consumer trust. However, for a small business, customers may just go to another small business down the street. If you're running an accounting firm that gets hit with a cyber attack, clients have other choices in the area. People may not even tell you directly, but after a cyber attack, many folks might just look for someone else to work with to avoid dealing with it. That reputational damage can have long-lasting effects.
Common Cybersecurity Threats to Small Businesses
Many cybersecurity threats these days come via email, such as phishing and social engineering attacks. According to Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 68% of breaches involve a non-malicious human action, such as making an error or falling prey to a social engineering attack. Cybersecurity awareness training can have a big positive impact here. The more all employees in an organization know about the different types of attacks out there, the better they will be able to identify something suspicious.
Cybercriminals work hard to make sure their emails don't look suspicious. Telling people not to click on "suspicious" emails or those with a strong sense of urgency doesn't work in a fast-paced workplace - everything seems to have a sense of urgency these days.. However, even just tipping the scale a little bit through cybersecurity awareness training can make a big difference.
Other threats small businesses face include:
- Ransomware that encrypts all your files
- Insider threats from disgruntled employees leaking data
- Accidental data breaches caused by employee mistakes
While you may read about big ransomware attacks like the attack on Colonial Pipeline that make national news, working in the cybersecurity industry with local small businesses, we get phone calls from 20-person companies that are completely shut down due to a ransomware incident. These don't make national or even local news, and people typically want to keep them private as they recover from the damage, learn from it, and put better cyber protections in place for next time. This is a devastating situation for any small business to experience.
A Real-World Example of a Small Business Cyber Attack
Let me share an example of a local company in the Boston area that was hit with a cyber incident. Before the ransomware attack, they had only very basic cybersecurity protections in place. The leadership felt they were spending enough on technology and couldn't spend more. They assumed they were getting security patch updates, and didn't really think more about security.
One morning, the first employee arrived at 6:30 AM and saw the ransomware pop up on their screen. The IT coordinator knew exactly what it was and thought they would recover from backup, but the data backup had been wiped away too. They were stuck and down for a week. The one thing that saved them from financial ruin was having cyber insurance that offset some of the losses. They felt they might not have survived without the insurance. Post-attack, they put into place everything possible and reasonable for an organization their size - STRONG passwords, multi factor authentication and more... plus a robust Cybersecurity Awareness training program.
Affordable Cybersecurity Solutions for Small Businesses
A common myth is that cybersecurity protections for small businesses have to cost a lot of money. They don't! There are many smart and affordable things you can do to stay protected online. Cybersecurity awareness training is one of those important measures. The more your team knows about what to do and to report anything suspicious, having an open conversation, the better it is.
Cybersecurity Awareness as a Competitive Advantage
Cybersecurity awareness training can be a competitive advantage for a local small business. Building client trust through proper safeguarding of their information is a great thing to communicate to your clients and prospective clients. If you're making a commitment to data protection, especially in this day and age where people are getting letters from large organizations seemingly every month about data breaches, it would be a refreshing message to clients to show how serious you are about implementing and showcasing industry-standard security practices and regularly updating clients on security enhancements.
Showing You Care
If you're making the investment and you really care about your employees and clients, show them you care by telling them what you're doing to keep their data safe.
Some of the best practices for data protection include:
- Encryption and secure data storage methods. The Massachusetts Data Security Law, which went into effect 14 years ago, requires that protected information like first name, last name, bank account number, social security number, and driver's license not be put on unencrypted devices. Any portable data needs to be encrypted.
- Access control and user authentication protocols. Not everyone should have access to everything. People need to gain access to certain protected information only if their job requires it. Segmenting data and keeping protected information separate from other data puts your organization at less risk.
- Regularly conducting audits and vulnerability assessments. This doesn't have to be fancy - it can be done with a team meeting to discuss what you're doing for security. Is everyone using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication? You can do this in a simple way without spending a lot.
Differentiating from Competitors
Differentiating from competitors by leveraging security as a selling point is something I would recommend any small business do. Get out there and really talk about what you're doing to protect your clients' data. This makes your business have a more personal connection versus a big corporation that may not care as much about data breaches.
Talk about compliance and highlight any security certifications or specific things you do in terms of security. Educate your clients on the importance of security. For instance, let them know they shouldn't email protected information since it's not secure in transit and could be intercepted.
Learning from Experience
The local businesses who have called us after a cyber incident have always been eager to build a more robust program. It was unfortunate they had to go through that, but they recovered from it and learned from it. When they came to us, they wanted to do all the right things.
They're now able to look their clients in the eye and say they're not cutting corners - they've done the work to be cyber aware through cybersecurity awareness training. That's an advantage when they're up against clients who might have multiple choices of who to work with. It's a competitive advantage.
Telling Your Clients
Tell your clients what you're doing to protect their data through cybersecurity and cybersecurity awareness training. It's a great way to differentiate your small business in today's marketplace.
The Role of Employee Education in Cybersecurity Awareness
Ongoing cybersecurity awareness training for all your employees is one of the most cost-effective things you can do to gain a strong security posture. If you run a small business, you can start really simple.
Making Cybersecurity Training Engaging
Talk about an article that you read and bring this up during staff meetings. There are also more formalized training programs like my company Ikaru does, but all of your employees ought to be able to identify phishing attempts and social engineering tactics. The more people know about the different scams that are out there, the less likely they will be to fall for them.
Handling Sensitive Data Properly
Proper handling of sensitive data is essential. Many times, people with really good intentions will work extra hours, take work home, and not handle the sensitive information properly, which could lead to a breach.
Fostering an Open Environment
It's important to have an open environment where people feel comfortable speaking up. Imagine someone clicks on a link they think they shouldn't have clicked on. If they speak up, any damage could be caught really early. However, if you have a culture where everybody is afraid to speak up, that's when the real damage can be done. In many cyber incidents, criminals have been lurking on the system for a long time after gaining access.
Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity
To create a culture of cybersecurity and foster awareness throughout your small business:
- Do some regular security briefings
- Gamify the training
- Set a positive example as the leader
At our company, we have a trophy that we pass around for the leader on our leaderboard for cybersecurity awareness training. It makes it fun, visible, and people actually compete for the trophy. I highly recommend doing something to make the training fun and gamified. As the leader of your small business, you must set a positive example for your team.
Minimizing Accidental Security Breaches
To minimize accidental security breaches, you need:
- Strong passwords
- Multi-factor authentication
- To teach people safe browsing and email practices through cybersecurity awareness training
- To implement physical security measures
Don't forget about physical security too. The Massachusetts data security law has regulations around reasonable secure methods for storing passwords. Absolutely no post-its on your monitor or under your keyboard if they contain passwords. Implement a clean desk policy and don't have confidential information out in the open.
Making Cybersecurity Awareness Fun
To have a successful cyber awareness initiative, gamifying it can be a lot of fun. One of our great clients also does the trophy, and they have multiple people in the organization making it fun and vying for that top spot to get bragging rights. People like to have games - it makes the learning more fun. Think of something creative you can do, maybe have some small gift cards to the local favorite coffee spot like Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks.
Reinforcing Cybersecurity Concepts
Cybersecurity awareness training is not a one-and-done situation. You can't have one lecture a year and expect everybody to retain the information. People will fall asleep. You have to make it fun, interactive, and repetitive. Keep reinforcing the concepts, the phishing examples, and all the different scams. For an effective training program, get people talking.
I was recently at a local senior center and basically everybody in the room had a story that either happened to them or happened to somebody they knew. When people share those stories, others learn from it and won't make the same mistakes.
Leveraging External Resources
Another way to do cybersecurity awareness training is to have a speaker come in or join an online webinar. There's Cybersecurity Awareness Month and a lot of great resources out there that you could share with your team. Just having a subject every once in a while, like on a monthly basis, gets it top of mind. Cybersecurity awareness training is definitely something small businesses need to focus on to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.
The Cost-Effectiveness of Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Cybersecurity awareness training is one of the most cost-effective measures you can take to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of your small business. In security, we have the concept of "left of boom" and "right of boom", with "boom" being a cyber event. The proactive measures you can take before a cyber event are relatively inexpensive. A cybersecurity awareness program doesn't have to cost a lot, especially when compared to incident response and recovery costs. It's a tiny fraction of the cost, and if it helps you save those costs down the road, it's an excellent investment.
Long-Term Savings and Insurance Benefits
The long-term savings on incident response legal fees can be significant. Many incident response firms are currently so busy that they can't keep up with the demand, and the costs are very expensive. Some small businesses think they can rely on insurance, but insurance companies require cybersecurity awareness training to qualify for coverage. They have seen the incidents, the statistics on who does what, and the outcomes in terms of cybersecurity. The fact that they require it means something, and it also means that if you're thinking you can skip the required training and still collect insurance, that's not going to happen. However, security-conscious businesses can get insurance premium reductions.
Employee Benefits and Productivity
Cybersecurity awareness training also benefits your employees in their personal lives. It can lead to productivity and operational benefits by minimizing downtime. Many people don't consider the cost of being completely shut down. You have payroll costs for people who cannot work because everything will be shut down after a cyber event. Your insurance company will want to conduct forensics, which may delay recovery until the forensics are complete. Enhancing employee confidence in using technology securely is also important. Technology is everywhere in our lives, and you want people to be able to use it securely.
Compliance and Legal Advantages
Cybersecurity awareness training also offers compliance and legal advantages. You must meet regulatory requirements, and more are on the way. By ensuring your employees are up to date on their cybersecurity awareness training, you can:
- Avoid fines and penalties for data protection violations
- Reduce the number of mistakes employees make
- Encourage faster reporting of problems while there's still time to act
- Strengthen your legal position in the case of a breach
This is important not just in terms of the direct financial implications but also in terms of being able to look your clients in the eye and say that you did all the things that were appropriate for a company your size to do, even if you were hit by a cyber incident.
The Importance of Cybersecurity Awareness TrainingPutting together a strong cybersecurity program for a small business requires cybersecurity awareness training at its core. Strong passwords and multi-factor authentication go out the window if an employee clicks on the wrong email, and often they do it because they don't know enough about what to look for to see a suspicious email.
Cybersecurity awareness training is a cost-effective way to strengthen your small business's cybersecurity posture, with benefits for your employees, your bottom line, and your legal and compliance obligations. It's an investment that can pay off in the long run by helping you avoid costly incidents and downtime.
Strengthen Your Small Business Cybersecurity Today
Are you prepared to strengthen your small business's cybersecurity? Our expert team offers guidance on implementing practical, cost-effective solutions customized for your company. We'll work with you to identify vulnerabilities, create a solid protection plan, and educate your team on recognizing and addressing potential threats.
Taking action now can help prevent cyber incidents from impacting your operations. By prioritizing cybersecurity, you protect your business assets, maintain customer trust, and position your company favorably among competitors.
Reach out today to arrange a consultation and begin building a more secure future for your business. Let's work together to create a cybersecurity strategy that supports your company's growth and success.