Think Your Business Is Too Small To Be At Risk For A Cyber Attack? Think Again.

Smaller firms tend to make the mistake of thinking that their business interests are not large enough to warrant a cyber-attack, but this is not the case. It does happen and small firms should do more to take care and protect their networks because cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly common. Too many managers think that they are too small to warrant attention from hackers, leading cyber security to take a backseat to more pressing business concerns.

In fact, research from the House of Representatives Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology showed that 1/5 of all cyber-attacks hit companies with 250 or fewer employees. Those that do get hit face dire consequences: 60% of them close with six months. Anyone in business is a target for a cyber-attack.

The first step to reducing your cyber-attack risk has to do with training employees about the risks in the information technology realm. It’s not necessary to train every employee about the finger details, but people who are aware of the risks tend to be less risky overall in their behavior. Talk about basic computer protection basics and enhance them as soon as possible.

Your next step should be to create company guidelines about security and technology policy. Walk through the policies about using personal devices on company networks and ensure that you have a reporting program in place to capture any network changes. Password policy should be discussed in person and documented with employees so that they know good guidelines for creating a password as well as basic rules like not keeping it on a sticky note nearby. Enforce protocols for lost or stolen devices and make sure that all employees are clear about the attack risks.