As a starting point — basic cybersecurity measures to protect your small business are achievable and inexpensive.
What’s not to like?! Make a start on cybersecurity. Get the basics right and you’ve removed large portions of low hanging fruit for hackers and scammers.
The alternative is potentially devastating to your business.
The contradictory (ironic?) data from a November 2023 study from Mastercard tells us if small business owners knew more about the risk of NOT implementing cybersecurity measures, they’d do it.
Let me draw from the study’s data again in a way that I can understand. 🙂💡
66% of small business owners would make more of an effort with security if they had greater awareness of cybersecurity risks. 🔦 🔦
Hence my motivation for this piece.
The 2 primary reasons given as barriers to investigating cybersecurity options are:
➡ Cost.
and
➡ Lack of knowledge.
I’d add a 3rd by neatly concatenating the first 2 reasons for ignoring security…
➡ Lack of knowledge about costs.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre’s “start here to protect your business” advice looks like this:
- Secure your accounts:
- Turn on multi-factor authentication
- Use strong passwords or passphrases
- Manage shared accounts
- Implement access controls (limit staff to need to access only)
- Protect your devices and information:
- Update your software
- Backup your information
- Use security software
- Secure your network and external services
- Harden your website
- Factory default your devices before getting rid of them
- Keep devices locked and physically secure
- Protect your business data
- Prepare your staff:
- Educate staff on security awareness
- Make a plan for emergencies
- Stay up to date and informed
As a starting point — the above list of security action items really are basic, achievable, and inexpensive for small businesses.
Easy for me to say, you say.
True. But arguably you’ve now got more awareness of what it takes to protect your business.
As we’ve learnt — awareness is the key. First the awareness of security threats, and then raise awareness of the (not so insurmountable) costs and effort to stop them.