Over 65% of small businesses in the United Kingdom reported that they experienced at least one cyberattack in the past year, according to the 2019 Global State of Cybersecurity in SMBs report by the Ponemon Institute. The paper also found that businesses in the UK are prone to web-based and malware attacks.
These digital sieges can cost a business an average of $200,000 in operational disruptions, data recovery, and lost sales, according to the latest Cyber Readiness Report by Hiscox, a UK-based insurance firm. That’s over £163,753! The median profit of small businesses falls at just around £8,000, so it’s no wonder that more than half of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) close down after a cyberattack.
It’s crucial for companies, big and small, to make cybersecurity a top priority. But this isn’t as simple as installing free antivirus software. Here are simple but effective measures that you can take to protect your business from attacks:
Create Secure Backups of Your Data
Ransomware is an attack that’s seen a recent resurgence. It starts with a phishing scam, where an unsuspecting employee would download malicious email attachments or click on fake ads from hackers. When downloaded and opened, the malicious file will immediately take over the user’s computer and lock them out of their files.
Apart from having comprehensive and updated antivirus software, your company should also have a backup system in place, whether it be on physical hard drives or the cloud. Ask your dependable IT support partner in London to set up this system for you.
Require your employees to transfer copies of their files to these repositories. Should a ransomware attack happen, you can easily recover important documents, and it’s business as usual.
Use Multifactor Authentication
If the software and apps you use for business have multifactor authentication, make full use of it. Multifactor authentication adds another layer of defence to your system. It prompts the use of different factors, such as location, fingerprints, and PINs sent to the user’s mobile number, on top of passwords to ensure that the person logging in is legitimately them, and not an attacker.
Make sure that all your employees have this function enabled for all the work applications they use. With how sophisticated and capable hackers are nowadays at finding their way into networks, a password won’t be enough to keep them away. You might as well add another barrier of authentication to discourage them from attacking further.
Educate Your Employees
Malware and web-based attacks are prevalent in the UK. And this mostly comes from viruses downloaded from malicious ads and spam email. Your workers may not be able to spot these immediately. Enrol them in a cybersecurity training course from certified providers. This way, you’ll have peace of mind, knowing that your workers won’t easily fall victim to phishing scams and other attacks both in and out of the office.
Cyberattacks can cost hundreds and thousands of pounds in damages to a business, which is certain death for some SMBs. Protect your small enterprise with these easy-to-implement cybersecurity practices. With the number of attacks growing every year, it’s better to be safe than sorry.