YOU’RE NOT TOO SMALL TO BE HACKED
You’re Just Too Small to be on The News
Equifax, Colonial Pipeline, Target, and Facebook all have one devastating thing in common: each of these companies has suffered a widespread cybersecurity breach in the last several years. However, for every Fortune 500 company that suffers a cyberattack and its public aftermath, there are three small businesses embroiled in the same horror. Yes, small businesses are THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE TARGETED BY A CYBER ATTACK! Why are they such easy targets?
- They manage bank accounts with thousands of dollars.
- They have a false sense of security about not being a target and have very little protection, if any, in place.
- They maintain their clients’ credit card information, employees’ social security numbers, and other vital data that can be sold on the dark web.
- Their employees themselves are untrained, often playing online video games or visiting other dangerous websites on the company network. They regularly click on links in emails that allow cybercriminals to download malicious software that then spreads to the entire network.
In the greater Birmingham area, the stories circulate widely among those in our industry:
- A small law firm was forced to buy roughly $50,000 in Bitcoin to pay a ransom when its files were completely locked down with no backups.
- A family-owned manufacturer lost almost $1 million because someone in accounting clicked on a link in a phishing email. She subsequently paid what appeared to be a legitimate invoice that a hacker created using information gleaned from her email account.
Unfortunately, by the time a small business realizes that it’s under attack, the attackers have typically been mining its data for weeks or even months. The ransomware is typically the culmination of activity that has been just below the surface on a business network for a long time.
So, what steps should a small business owner take? First, acknowledge the problem and take it seriously. Keeping your head in the sand will only ensure that your business remains a target. Secondly, know that we, or another reputable IT security firm, have tools that will evaluate where your network stands today and exactly what you need to do to eliminate as many risks as possible. We would love to have the opportunity to meet with you to discuss your concerns, your needs, and a solution that will help secure your business.