By Vishal Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, Synersoft technologies
Businesses of all sizes and from any location use the Internet to access new and larger audiences, as well as use computer-based tools to work more efficiently and effectively. If a firm plans to use cloud computing or just use email and maintain a website, cybersecurity should be a part of the strategy. The theft of digital information has surpassed physical activity. Every company, including SMEs, utilizes defense the Internet, which is accountable for developing a security culture that will boost consumer and business confidence.
In this scenario, SMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy and the largest sector in terms of job creation, highest taxpayers, and considerable GDP contributors. An SME’s resilience to preserve business continuity and defend its competitiveness is determined by its level of cybersecurity. In other words, cybercrime’s detrimental impact on SMEs has the potential to disrupt the entire economy. Large businesses have the resources, people, and technology to combat cybercrime. SMEs, on the other hand, do not. However, SMEs are more exposed to cybercrime’s effects.
This occurrence does have a silver lining. It is true that the intensity of an attack on a small business differs from that on a huge corporation. As a result, the needed agility and intensity of response are not the same. Data loss, competitive exploitation, data leakage, and the repercussions of cybercrime result in a loss of Business Continuity. As a result, there are 10 defense criteria for SMEs.
Data Positioning
If hundreds of marbles are strewn over the floor, it’s tough to keep them safe against theft and loss. It is, however, simple to preserve them by placing them in a jar and placing it in a corner. The same applies to data. SMEs’ data is kept in the form of designs, drawings, papers, spreadsheets, ERP, customer, HR, MIS data, IPR formulas, and other formats. It may be found on laptops, desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.
However, the more dispersed it is, the more prone it is to being lost. The only way to cope with such a wide variety of files is to centralize the data. Thus, SMEs should invest in file servers or Network Attached Storage (NAS) to centralize their data.
Autocratic Centralization
Investing in a central storage system is not enough. Users working in an SME are mostly not tech-savvy. Ignorance or negligence may cause them to not store data on a Central Storage Device and keep scattering it.
SMEs should deploy device hardening solutions to ensure that the users have no choice but to save the data on the central storage device only. It will minimize the scatteredness of data. It will ensure that they have to protect only the central storage device from cyberattacks. Hence, the Autocratic centralization of data reduces the efforts to protect data against cybercrime.
VPN for Remote Access of Data
Before sending data over the internet, encryption changes it into a secret code. Therefore, it’s critical for organizations to enable network and data encryption when storing and exchanging data. This may be done by changing the settings on your router or installing VPN software on your computer or another device.
Use of Standard Email Systems
It’s all too easy for SMEs to fall into the trap of using low-cost, inadequate email services. It leads to identity theft, the most frequent type of cybercrime. They are vulnerable to ransomware-infected attachments if they utilize such an email system. Standard email platforms, such as G Suite, Office 365, or similar, are less prone to identity theft and backdoor ransomware-infected attachments, so SMEs should utilize them.
Antivirus
The greatest defense against viruses, malware, and other online risks is to have the newest security software, web browser, and ad operations systems installed. To secure their computers, SMEs must set licensed antivirus software to conduct a scan after each update. Antivirus is inexpensive, however, the security it provides is invaluable.
Forgo Piracy
To save money, every firm, including SMEs, resorts to pirated software. However, pirated software that has been cracked is associated with malware. It puts them at significant risk of data loss and theft. To build enterprise-level IT infrastructure, they don’t require servers, server software, client access, or RDP CAL licenses. They must, however, assess IT in Box Solutions that provide the needed business environment at a low cost.
Insider Threat Mitigation
Insider risks are more dangerous to SMEs than external ones. They must implement solid employment agreements with their staff by establishing fundamental security protocols and regulations for workers, such as mandating secure passwords and proper guidelines for internet use that spell out the consequences of breaching the cybersecurity policies of firms.
Employees should be educated about managing and securing customer information and other sensitive data by identifying Identity theft, phishing websites, employment contract provisions, piracy, and the implications of a data breach by SMEs.
Active Recycle Bins
Do not provide any one employee access to all the data systems. SMEs should invest in central storage systems that can restore data if employees delete it by accident or on purpose. If an employee has destroyed data on purpose, such devices may identify who removed it to lower the risk of cybersecurity.
Data Leakage over USB, Emails, Internet
One of the most common ways cybercriminals get access to all the data of your firm is through your employee. They’ll send fraudulent emails in your organization and will either ask for personal details or for access to certain files.
As a result, SMEs should implement endpoint controls to prevent data leakage via USB ports, emails, or the Internet. A cybercrime involving data leaking by an insider might make a small business responsible for violating any confidentiality agreements it may have with consumers.
Off-Site Backup
Backing up data is one of the most important and cost-effective ways to ensure that data is recoverable in the case of a cyber-attack or computer malfunction. However, every firm particularly SMEs must offer cloud-based off-site backup to ensure that their ERP, Files, and Email data are backed up to the cloud.
But the matter of fact is that backing up data on a regular basis assures data protection and the department suggests adopting plenty of backup options such as daily incremental backups to a portable device or cloud storage, as well as end-of-week, quarterly, and yearly server backups. As a result, it will protect your organization against data loss due to deletion, infection, or disaster.
Summing Up!
It’s not enough to try to shield your firm from external dangers. Cyber risks can come from both within and outside your company. However, the most important lesson here is to begin implementing the right strategies once to help protect your small business from hackers and other threats.