How SMEs can strengthen their cyber security

Small and medium-sized businesses are often misunderstood and seen as less competent when it comes to effective cyber security, making them lucrative targets for cybercriminals.

In the event of a cyber breach, let’s say a ransomware incident, large enterprises are in a better position to deal with the cost of recovery after a shutdown. (By the way, this can be 10 times the amount of a ransom demand.)

Unfortunately, SME’s wouldn’t have the means or capacity to deal with such a disruption, especially when the repercussions are damaging to customer relationships and reputation.

Cyber criminals are constantly exploring new ways to exploit businesses. While they can’t be stopped, attacks can be prevented and contained. All businesses should operate on the assumption that they are likely to be attacked. We go through key cyber security strategies your business can implement to strengthen your overall cyber security posture.

Build a strong security culture

Forming a strong security culture should be at the top of your priority list, after all it’s not just an IT issue, it’s a issue that the entire organisation should be aware of. But this is only effective when the message comes from the top. If the C-suite isn’t taking security seriously, neither will employees.

We recommend starting with security awareness training! We already know many breaches come down to human error, but one way to minimise this is by educating your employees on how they can identify malicious content and emails and encourage them to report these to security teams. Prevention is always the key to a breach!

Work on identifying your security vulnerabilities  

We know that many businesses hastily implemented technologies during the pandemic to support remote workers. As a result, 72% of U.K. organisations have identified vulnerabilities as the main cause of damaging cyber attacks.

One way businesses can uncover and eliminate vulnerabilities before they are exploited is by implementing a full-proof vulnerability management program.

A good and fully managed program will scrutinise your IT infrastructure and determine the significance and criticality of the vulnerability based on levels, and then provide next steps for remediation.

Stay on top of your cloud security

More and more businesses are turning to the cloud to provide the infrastructure needed for today’s needs. While cloud-based systems are accessible and efficient, it’s critical for businesses to use cloud platforms that offer comprehensive security.

But that’s not all. Cloud and security teams need to consistently evaluate their cloud for any weak spots that may affect their overall security posture. Misconfigurations are one of the biggest risks to cloud environments today, accounting for an average of 230m daily!

For more information on how to keep your business protected, contact our cyber security experts today.