Small Business Cybersecurity Checklist: Essential IT Support Measures

Did you know that 82% of ransomware attacks in 2021 targeted companies that accommodated fewer than 1,000 employees, according to a source? Moreover, 95% of these incidents at small and medium-scale businesses cost between $826 and $653,587.

A small business often gets exposed to cyber threats like phishing, ransomware, data breaches, etc. Did you know why? Well, many reasons can be behind it. But the foremost one is their limited security infrastructures. Because of this reason, safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining business continuity, and enhancing customer trust seem like a big challenge. But you cannot afford to bear hefty monetary losses. So, it’s better to take essential measures before the loss elevates.

Essential IT Support Measures

Some of the most significant measures that every small business IT support services specialist should be concerned about are given below:

1. Secure Your Network and Devices

Network security is vital, as it prevents unauthorised access to your sensitive data and credentials. These measures can facilitate strong network security:

• Install Firewalls: Firewalls barricade external causes of vulnerability from corrupting or stealing your sensitive data. They stand strong between the internal network and external threats.
• Use VPNs for Remote Access: A virtual private network (VPN) keeps the IP covered, ensuring secure access for remotely located employees.
• Keep Software Updated: Do not delay or compromise with obsolete operating systems, applications, and antivirus software. Keep them updated to avoid vulnerabilities.
• Enable Endpoint Protection: Proactively use antivirus and anti-malware software to filter out malicious attempts.

2. Implement Strong Access Controls

Free access can invite cyber spies. So, it’s necessary to limit access to sensitive data so that the risk of unauthorised breaches and threats can be kept at bay.

• Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): With multi-factor authentication, security can be strengthened because it certainly makes it mandatory for users to pass through multiple forms of verification.
• Use Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Restrict access to sensitive data to stakeholders only, but not to all employees.
• Monitor User Activity: Regularly monitor the login attempts, file accesses, and network usage so that any unusual attempt or pattern can be detected if occurring.
• Regularly Update Passwords: Encourage employees to use strong passwords and frequently change them, as banks do.

3. Educate Employees on Cybersecurity Best Practices

Manual mistakes could be overwhelming, causing a significant risk to the security of IT products. A report reveals that 95% of cybersecurity breaches occur because of manual mistakes. So, you need to follow these practices:

• Conduct Regular Security Training: Frequently train employees about how to recognise and deal with phishing scams, how to maintain password hygiene, and how to counter social engineering attacks.
• Implement Phishing Simulations: You can mock up or simulate with fake phishing emails to practically train and prove employees.
• Establish Clear IT Policies: Share protocols or guidelines on how to efficiently handle sensitive data, how to manage personal devices, and how to report security incidents.

4. Back Up Data Regularly

Cyberattacks, hardware failures, or natural disasters can cause data loss, which can actually paralyze a business. IT experts counter these problems by backing up data and following these details:

• Automate Backups: Deploy a cloud-based or external storage to keep data backups secure for laser-fast retrievals.
• Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule: Secure at least three copies of data, storing it on two different locations or media types. Keeping it offsite is also a good alternative.
• Test Backup and Recovery Procedures: Ensure that backups can be quickly stored, or you can put them on automation to cope with an incident.

5. Secure Payment Processing Systems

Customer financial data is indeed sensitive. So, it must be maintained to build trust and comply with data protection regulations. These techniques can help in making it possible:

• Use Encrypted Transactions: Payments or transactional details must not be revealed to unauthorised users, so ensure using SSL encryption.
• Stay PCI DSS Compliant: Comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) to secure cardholder data.
• Monitor Transactions for Fraud: Delegate fraud detection software, which can auto-detect and counter malicious attempts.

6. Protect Your Email and Communication Channels

Emails are the softest point or loop that can allow cyber spies to enter and steal away data.

• Enable Spam and Phishing Filters: Use AI-powered email security software or solutions so that the pattern of malicious messages can be detected automatically.
• Use Secure Email Gateways (SEGs): Deploy Secure Email Gateways (SEGs), which secure emails by analysing signatures to determine authentic and fake users before their mail enters the recipients’ inboxes.
• Encrypt Sensitive Emails: Encrypt sensitive data to prevent spam and cyberattacks.

7. Monitor and Respond to Security Threats

Monitoring defines a proactive step, which prevents breaching. Small scale enterprises or startups can try these hacks to track and counter security threats:

• Deploy Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): Employ IDPS tools to monitor network traffic and system activities, which guides in determining and blocking malicious activities in real time.
• Conduct Regular Security Audits: Analyse and update IT security policies, procedures, and compliance requirements corresponding to new spam and changes in regulations.
• Have an Incident Response Plan: Hire an outsourcer or IT expert to define a step-by-step strategy to prevent and meticulously manage security breaches, which also prevents long downtimes.

8. Ensure Compliance with Data Protection Laws

Religiously follow cybersecurity regulations so that your sensitive data from CRM, leads, or any other platform can be protected without any legal implication.

• Understand GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA: Depending on your location, customers, and industry, always align data security as per the sensitivity mentioned in these regulations.
• Use Data Encryption for Compliance: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like contact details, gender, and more must be kept secure. So, keep them safe.
• Regularly Review Compliance Policies: Try to tap into every crucial change in cybersecurity laws to take corresponding actions.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is a critical investment for small businesses. Implementing this cybersecurity checklist will help prevent attacks, safeguard customer data, and ensure business continuity. With cybercrime damages expected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, businesses must prioritise IT security measures.