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12 Steps to Protecting Your Business from Modern Cyber Threats

The cyber threat landscape has become increasingly perilous over the past year:

  • Rising Frequency of Attacks: Cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2023 compared to the previous year.

  • Cost of Data Breaches: The average cost of a data breach reached $4.45 million in 2023, the highest on record.

  • Phishing and Ransomware: Phishing remains the most common attack vector, responsible for 36% of data breaches, while ransomware attacks saw a 13% increase.

  • Time to Identify and Contain Breaches: On average, it takes 277 days to identify and contain a breach, underscoring the need for robust detection and response capabilities.

Small Businesses are not immune

While the news can be ripe with stories of large organizations suffering a cyberattack, the fact is that 58% of victims are business with fewer than 50 employees. Over the past decade, 60% of small companies have gone out of business within six months of falling victim to a data breach or cyberattack. It’s really no wonder.

  • Cybercriminals increasingly target small businesses, which often lack the resources and expertise to defend themselves.

  • AI is being used to craft highly convincing email and voice messages to enable fraud schemes against individuals and organizations alike.

  • Browser Hijacking is on the rise. Just visiting a malicious link unintentionally can install software, change settings and steal data - including that secure session you've kept logged in.

  • 40% of small businesses that suffered a cyberattack experienced 8 or more hours of downtime.

  • The average cost of a cyber incident for a small business is $345,000.

  • Businesses suffer reputational harm, lost customers, operational downtime and stolen intellectual property from which it is very difficult to recover.

  • 91% of small businesses have no Cyber Liability Insurance.

  • 1 out of 5 small businesses have NO Endpoint Protection (anti-virus/anti-malware).

  • Humans are the weakest security link with 95% of incidents starting with end-user error.

A Remote Workforce presents additional security challenges

  • 58% of small businesses have some measure of a remote workforce.

  • A lack of physical security in the remote worker’s workspace.

  • The existence of unknown malware/spyware on remote systems.

  • Cybercriminals could use a remote worker’s system to gain access to the corporate network

12 Steps you can take to protect your business

  1. Identify what kind of sensitive data your business handles, stores and/or transmits. This can include Customer data, Employee data, Intellectual property/product designs, Trade secrets, etc.

  2. Identify where your company keeps sensitive data and who has access to it. Practice the Principal of Least Privilege. If someone doesn't need it to perform their job duties, they shouldn't have access.

  3. Know if your company falls under any compliance or regulatory frameworks or laws (FTC, HIPAA, FINRA, SOX) Most small business do not realize they have compliancy requirements

  4. Understand your hourly downtime cost. Include lost wages, productivity and revenue.

  5. Identify the technologies and insurance coverages that are in place to protect business operations and confidential data

  6. Create, regularly review written policies and procedures that support the management of confidential data. Train and test your employees regularly on how to identify sensitive data and attempts to breach its security.

  7. Protect all devices and data. It's increasingly easier to access company data from anywhere and anything. All company data has an impact on business operations, not just sensitive data. If this data and the devices that access it are not protected (Managed and Monitored Threat Detection and Response, On-site and Remote Backup), its loss can be business-ending. This includes your cloud data.

  8. Document how effectively your team can function WITHOUT technology. Test its effectiveness BEFORE you need it. Divide technology and/or operational centers and perform "What if" table-top exercises.

  9. Plan your public response. How would your brand suffer if you had a cyber incident? Work with your legal team to ensure you're appropriately communicating an incident to customers and stakeholders.

  10. Know your Recovery Time Objective. How quickly can you respond to, contain and recover from a cyber incident?

  11. Know your Recovery Point Objective. If you need to recover from a cyber incident, to what point in time would that be? Is that sustainable and obtainable?

  12. Test your Recovery Plan regularly. Document the steps. Minimize mistakes and over-reaction in emergencies by having an easy-to-follow, step-by-step plan to get you back into full production. If you're regulated or have Cyber Insurance, you may be required to show proof.

If you would like to know more about how Computer Superheroes can help your business, please message me or contact us online https://computersuperheroes.com/contact-us

As the future of work continues to evolve, it’s crucial to ensure your business is protected from cyber incidents. At Computer Superheroes, we are here to help you navigate solutions that meet your goals and requirements. Contact us today to learn more about our cloud backup and disaster recovery services, and empower your team for success!

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