You’ve seen some of the headlines regarding big cyber security breaches. Colonial Pipeline paid a huge ransom to get their data back and get the gas flowing again. JBS Meat also suffered an attack that shut down production for days.
If you are thinking that your business is too small for a group of hackers to try holding your data for ransom, think again. Many hackers think of small businesses as “low hanging fruit,” or as easy targets, since they don’t have big cyber security budgets to prevent an attack. Data held by small businesses can be just as lucrative as the data held by small businesses. Plus, they know that if you think it is more costly to restore your systems yourself, that you will pay them the ransom demanded. Even small, negotiated ransom is something to the cyber criminal.
So, what can you do to protect your business without spending big dollars? There are some simple things you can start with that are better than nothing and could end up thwarting a major attack where you could lose big dollars.
- Backup your data
This is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself from a potential ransomware attack. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts all of your data, and to get it back you need a decryption key, one that the hackers will sell to you. Having offline and offsite backups ensures that you can restore the data yourself and not need to pay a ransom for the decryption key.
- Use multifactor authentication everywhere possible
Stolen passwords for accounts are a big problem. By using multifactor authentication, you make it more difficult for a cyber criminal to break into your systems. Multifactor authentication adds an extra layer by require the users to not just enter a valid password, but they also need a one-time code generated by token ort SMS message.
- Hire a professional for their expertise
For many small business owners, the thought of having to hire one or two full time staff members to look after cyber security is daunting. In addition to the skills shortage being a real thing, most small business owners cannot afford to hire full time staff. Instead, you should look to hire a cyber security company to manage cyber security for you. An MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider) is an invaluable partner that can help you manage many aspects of cyber security, like offsite backups, vulnerability management and remediation and 24x7 support, just to name a few services that are offered by MSSPs.
If you are looking for cyber security expertise, trust the experts at QuickProtect. QuickProtect’s services include offline and offsite backups of your data, 24/7 On-demand cyber security & IT assistance and endpoint protection, just to name a few. Contact us today to help you protect your business and your money.
