With tensions rising across the world as we witness what is happening currently in Europe, are you ready and more importantly is your small business ready for possible cyberattacks? Two weeks ago we discussed the Shields Up alert from CISA and this week we are going to dive a little deeper into what your small business can do.
Getting ready
Being vigilant of your networks and websites and raising awareness with your employees is critical in preparing for cyberattacks. We know that social engineering attacks, like phishing, is one of the top tools a cyber criminal uses. Over the last year there has also been an increase in DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks against websites and services.
Steps you should consider
Here are some steps Security Bytes recommends all small businesses to consider:
Patch your business critical systems and public facing systems: Look at things like your website and identify if the website platform or any plugins require updates or patches. Also check for updates and patches for any system or software that is critical to your small business staying operational.
Backup and verify: Review your data backups, verify the data you need is being correctly backed up, and review the restoration process. It is also good practice to have multiple copies of your backups in case one method does not restore correctly.
Review user access practices: Review your password policies, ensuring your critical business systems have long, complex, never reused passwords or passphrases and when possible implement multi-factor authentication for those systems. These could be your email system, customer relationship management system, payroll system, website, payment processor, or financial systems. Think of the systems you absolutely need to operate.
Ready your response plan: Review your cyber incident response plan if you have one. If you do not have a plan, identify key stakeholders within your business. These key stakeholders could include vendors or partners who might play an important role in remediating a cyber incident.
More resources
Not sure where to start? Check out these important White Papers and Tip sheets from Security Bytes
What to do if your business is the victim of a data or security breach?
Security Breach Recap – The Do’s & Don’ts
Ransomware: What you really really need to know
Quickly Tips for Staying Safe Online
For more on protecting your small business from cyber threats, check out Small Business, Big Threat!