Guide to Cybersecurity for Small Medium Businesses

The ever-changing technology landscape is not a new revelation. And organizations are reimagining processes and strategies to accommodate it. With the birth of the digital age, cyber-attacks are on the rise. Various studies show that small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) are more prone to cyber threats, and having solid defenses to protect your business has become more challenging. The problem worsens when traditional security solutions fail to stop these advanced attacks.

Large enterprises can recover from data breaches, but small businesses take weeks or months to discover it. A Cisco research report reveals that 74% of SMBs in India suffered a loss in revenue due to cybersecurity incidents. But, Indian firms bank on advanced technologies to accelerate their business reach and cannot afford to back out due to persistent cyberattacks. Right now, businesses of all sizes must proactively engage in securing sensitive data and engage in preventing cyber threats.

Importance of IT in enabling SMBs:The pandemic necessitated remote work and everything connected to the cloud, which fast-tracked the need for digital marketing in SMBs. Tech adoption became directly proportional to better business reach, and has SMBs have not looked back since then.

There are,Cloud Computing:Cloud services are more feasible than traditional infrastructure storage. The benefits of using the cloud are not just limited to revenue growth, but it is an enabler of growing partnerships and strategic marketing of products and services.Analystics:Data analytics is critical for SMBs’ growth; implementing it can increase revenue, efficiency, and productivity. A data-centric approach will utilize the high amount of data generated from the business to complete the customer journey pictureeCommerce operations:Service-based SMBs pivoted their business online and expanded their revenue by jumping into the digital sales channels’ bandwagon. eCommerce technology is doing wonders by benefitting the business reach at a low operational cost.Digital Payments:Payment technology is unlocking significant value for SMBs. It eliminates the manual process of managing cash flow and recording payroll and disbursement of transfers to customers. Digital payments address conventional payment processes by introducing digital wallets, NFC payments, and online payments. It has significantly reduced the administrative burden by improving customer experience, reducing costs, and cloud-hosting the transactions

Cybersecurity threats for small business:A cyber threat is when a malicious actor attempts to disrupt or damage your digital data and assets and potentially cause harm to your network system.

There are some,Phishing attackSpear PhisingWhaling attackMalware attackWeak passwordDDos attack

Cybersecurity best practices:Security goes beyond antivirus softwareEnable Multi-Factor AuthenticationTrainnig EmployeesProtect import filesZero trust approach