The last thing your small business needs is a cybersecurity breach. Think you’re too small to be a target? Not so fast. I’ll show you simple places where small businesses go wrong and how to safeguard your business and reputation–without overspending.
Why Cybersecurity Matters
First, let’s break down why preventing a hack is mission-critical to your business:
- It’s Stressful: Dealing with a breach is like putting out a fire while juggling chainsaws. Not fun.
- It’s Costly: We’re talking potential fraud, legal liability, and a massive time sink.
- It Can Be Fatal: For a new business, a significant breach can be the kiss of death.
Three Steps to Bulletproof Your Business
A full-time cybersecurity team is out of reach for most small businesses. Luckily, you probably don’t need one (yet). Here are some affordable, high-impact ways to start protecting your business from cyber threats starting right now.
1. Embrace Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Enable MFA on every single account in your business. And I mean every. Single. One.
Why: It’s like adding a deadbolt to your digital doors. Even if someone cracks your password, they still can’t get in without that second factor.
How: Go through all your accounts, find the security settings, and enable MFA. Use an authenticator app, like [suggestion] or [suggestion], rather than SMS when possible.
2. Invest in a Password Manager
Pick a high-quality password manager. I like BitWarden for our clients here at High Echelon, but there are several good options.
Why: It helps you create and store complex, unique passwords for all your accounts. No more “password123” across all your logins!
How: Choose a reputable password manager, install it on all your devices, and use it to generate and store passwords.
3. The Great Password Reset
You are probably due for a full password overhaul, and have been for a while.
Why: Unique, complex passwords for each account mean that if one account is compromised, the others remain secure. Repeat passwords are a recipe for disaster when it comes to cyber breaches.
How:
- Go through all your accounts
- Use your password manager to generate new passwords that are: a) Unique from each other b) Randomized (no birthdays or pet names!) c) 25 characters long (or the maximum allowed if less)
- Store these new passwords in your password manager–and nowhere else
The Bottom Line on Cybersecurity
I get it. As a new business owner, you’re already juggling a million things. But in today’s modern, digital-first business landscape, cybersecurity is the last thing you can afford to ignore.
The good news is that the simple steps outlined above will dramatically increase your cybersecurity posture, essentially slamming the door on the most common types of breaches.
There really is no need for a huge cybersecurity team like the big corporations. A few smart steps can give you solid protection without breaking the bank.
Need help protecting what you’ve worked so hard to build? Let’s talk cyber strategy–or let my team and I get your business up to speed.