A significant amount of change has occurred quickly for many small and medium businesses, and the response varied wildly. Unfortunately, this has created many security vulnerabilities that criminals can use to successfully exploit and harm companies.

Cybersecurity for Small and Medium Businesses

Cybersecurity is a buzzword, and it’s not going away. Cybercriminals have become increasingly sophisticated and dangerous for businesses of all sizes. Unfortunately, attacks by cybercriminals also often result in significant financial losses for targeted companies.

Of the many vectors of cyberattacks, employees are often considered the weakest point. It’s employees who set weak passwords, click on phishing emails, and use work devices for personal activities. Cybercriminals know this.

The other aspect of cybersecurity that’s gaining prominence is the seizure of digital infrastructure. Both ransomware and DDoS attacks fall in this category, which prevents productivity by denying access to infrastructure and company resources. For a small or medium business, the results can be difficult or sometimes impossible to recover from.

Reputation Management

The digital age brought many innovations, and one of them is enhanced research options for consumers before making purchase decisions. This added another dimension often referred to as  reputation management. Unfortunately, cybercriminals can also easily interfere with it.

Take social media, for example. A cybercriminal can either take over an account or create a fake one and use it to discredit or destroy the reputation of a business. The business must work to repair the damage to its reputation. The outcome can often result in the loss of significant revenue.

Work Device Shortcomings

Between work devices leaving company premises and bringing your own device (BYOD), company data has never been more at risk. From the lack of consistent security patching, to the way people handle their devices, there are many avenues of attack on company data and productivity.

For example, remote work has meant many people brought their work computers home and use VPN to access their business data and applications. However, that does not mean that these devices were appropriately hardened to work from home Wi-Fi access, or that employees could maintain all of the relevant security patching outside of the work environment.

Resource Shortages Small and Medium Businesses

One of the ongoing issues for small and medium-sized businesses is resource shortages, such as a lack of regular IT managers. While a company can manage using the talents of other employees, overburdening and lack of knowledge do tend to lead to slip-ups that cybercriminals can exploit.

While competing for talent with large companies is difficult, finding an expert can make an enormous difference. Additionally, up-to-date equipment and well-established management can help reduce the threat of a cyber attack to your business.

Lack of Employee Education

Lack of employee education is a security threat in many areas. Unfortunately, training on things like phishing attacks or access control tends to be done only during onboarding and never repeated. Meanwhile, cybercriminals using these threat avenues get more sophisticated every year.

Additionally, employees need training in specific circumstances. For example, the remote work boom as part of COVID-19 lockdowns typically did not come with additional training regarding the VPN programs, digital home security, or any other number of vital topics. Employees can only help with security when they understand what’s going on and what’s at stake.