54% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom say they experienced cyberattacks in the last 12 months, an increase of 15% according to a recent report conducted by Vodafone of over 500 SME owners.
Cyberattacks can have severe consequences for businesses, including financial loss, data breaches, reputational damage, and disruption of operations. SMEs may be particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks due to limited resources, lack of dedicated cybersecurity teams, and inadequate security measures.
To mitigate the risks and protect their businesses, our Technical Director, Dave Sample has taken a look at some of the cybersecurity best practices’ SMEs should consider implementing:
Regularly update software and systems: It is crucial to maintain up-to-date operating systems, applications, and security software to safeguard against known vulnerabilities. Don’t maintain software that is old and no longer supported, should this be required then ensure these are isolated from the rest of the network and a business case is documented.
Authentication: Encourage employees to use complex passwords and avoid reusing them across multiple accounts. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security. Look to move towards a passwordless and zero trust infrastructure.
Educate: Provide cybersecurity training and awareness programmes to educate employees about phishing attacks, social engineering, and safe online practices. Integrating your own phishing attacks to identify vulnerable users is also recommended.
Rapid Recovery: Although not a mitigation technique, should you experience a cyberattack then a low Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is highly beneficial (once the threat has been tracked down, isolated and removed). A Disaster Recovery (DR) solution is key to this.
Some organisations don’t have the budget for DR so regular backups, although they come with a high RTO and RPO, would enable businesses to recover critical data should a disaster occur. Backups also enable the business to recover ad hoc data, so should always operate alongside the DR strategy.
Implement firewalls: Firewalls have been common at the perimeter of networks for many years, however nowadays the firewall perimeter/edge is no longer easy to define. Users are now mobile, working from home or on the road. The firewall solution adopted needs to follow the user and still inform IT should an issue occur. SASE solutions are now available to serve as part of this solution.
The traditional firewall is still critical in organisations and still needs to be configured at the perimeter and sometimes between other ‘untrusted’ internal networks.
Antivirus software: A malware protection strategy that embraces machine learning in addition to traditional signature-based technology and the ability to track and isolate along the trajectory of an attack, is vital in today’s cyber world.
Encrypt sensitive information: Encrypting data helps protect it from unauthorized access, especially when transmitting data over the internet.
Restrict access privileges: Limit user access to sensitive data and systems only to those who require it for their job roles. Implement strong access controls and regularly review and revoke access as needed.
Establish an incident response plan: Develop a comprehensive incident response plan that outlines the steps to be taken in case of a cyber incident. This helps minimise damage and facilitates a timely response.
The above of course takes a lot of time to implement and manage, requiring in-house knowledge to ensure its effectiveness in the long term. Seeking professional assistance from cybersecurity experts or managed service providers can help SMEs enhance their security posture and maintain it. They can perform security assessments, recommend appropriate security solutions, and provide ongoing monitoring and support.
Overall, it is crucial for SMEs to prioritise cybersecurity and allocate resources to protect their businesses from cyber threats. By adopting proactive measures and staying informed about emerging threats, SMEs can reduce the risk of cyberattacks and safeguard their operations and sensitive data.
Written by: David Sample, Technical Director, Advantex
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