07/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/16/2024 21:56
In the digital age, small businesses must be vigilant about their cybersecurity practices. Her are eight key measures for enhancing your business's cybersecurity, according to top IT professionals, including CISOs and Information Security Managers. From cultivating cybersecurity awareness to applying regular software updates and patches, these experts share their essential strategies.
One practical example is fostering the ability to discern spoofed emails from legitimate ones. To achieve this, ongoing education and continuously expanding our knowledge base of emerging cyber threats, best practices, and industry trends are key.
Trevor Horwitz, CISO, TrustNet Inc.
Even with limited resources, these measures significantly improve security with minimal investment and maximal impact.
Chris Watson, Information Security Manager, Choice Solutions, LLC
Think of it like adding an extra lock to your door. With MFA, even if someone guesses your password (the first lock), they still can't get in because they'll need another piece of information, like a code from your phone or a fingerprint scan.
MFA can block over 99.9% of attacks that try to steal passwords! It's a cost-effective way for small businesses with limited resources to make a big difference in their cybersecurity.
Hodahel Moinzadeh, founder & Senior Systems Administrator, SecureCPU Managed IT Services
By keeping secure, up-to-date copies of your data both onsite and offsite (using cloud services or physical backups), you create a safety net that mitigates the impact of potential security incidents. This not only helps in recovering lost data but also strengthens your overall resilience against cyber threats.
Alex Tray, Cybersecurity Consultant, NAKIVO
There's also a lack of expertise-they don't have the technical subject matter experts in-house to resolve cybersecurity challenges. They also don't have the sizeable budgets that multimillion-pound enterprises have to fix their security. Small businesses need to be smarter with their cash.
Finally, they often don't know where to start when implementing measures to enhance cybersecurity. Without access to cybersecurity experts, it can be challenging to know which controls/measures and strategic direction are best for their business, and without help, they risk heading off in a direction that is detrimental to the business, wasting both time and money.
Consequently, one key measure to enhance cybersecurity that can uplift the overall cybersecurity for small businesses is taking on a virtual CISO (chief information security officer). Small businesses can't just hire a CISO full-time because the salary costs can be prohibitive. They also often don't actually need a full-time employee there five days a week, all year round.
Taking on a virtual CISO (vCISO) on a fractional basis can give them the strategic direction and operational traction on risk remediation that a small business needs in its early stages. The reason why this measure can be so effective in enhancing cybersecurity for small businesses is because of the breadth of cybersecurity controls and measures that can be implemented through them. They can drive improvements to both strategic and operational cybersecurity controls and risk reduction measures, provide expert advice on strategic cybersecurity issues, and run cyber incident management processes, among other things..
Jonny Pelter, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Founder, CyPro
It costs nothing to keep security at the forefront of everyone's minds, and it's the best protection possible. Policies should include ongoing training. Make certain that everyone knows to consult a security expert when they receive strange communications, especially when those communications request unusual actions.
Bill Mann, Privacy Expert at Cyber Insider, Cyber Insider
Small accounting firms often handle sensitive financial data, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals. Ensuring data is backed up regularly and stored securely can protect against data loss and provide a safety net in case of an attack. It's essential to store these on-site and off-site backups to safeguard against physical disasters like fire or flooding. Recovering quickly from a cyber incident can make a significant difference in maintaining business continuity and client trust.
Additionally, regularly testing these backup systems is crucial. More than backups are needed; they must be reliable and up-to-date. We recommend that our clients conduct periodic tests to verify that their data recovery process works effectively.
Konrad Martin, CEO, Tech Advisors
This practice, although straightforward, effectively closes potential security gaps that could be exploited by cyber threats. Ensuring that updates are applied promptly across all devices has significantly bolstered our network's security, providing a robust shield against potential cyber incursions.
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