Successful Small and Midsize Businesses (SMBs) today are investing in solid technology infrastructure, secure networks, and cybersecurity education for their employees. But the world of cybersecurity can seem so broad, foreign, and intimidating that many business owners don’t know where to start.
This blog is for business owners who want to understand their options for improving their company’s cybersecurity. Uprite Services, a Managed IT services and cybersecurity provider, and MetaCTF, a corporate cybersecurity training provider, teamed up to inform business owners about steps they can take today to address the top three cybersecurity challenges for SMBs.
Monitoring and Support vs. Training
Monitoring and Support: Cybersecurity monitoring means that you are continuously watching the activity on your network to spot potential breaches, intruders, or other security threats. While some companies build this monitoring skill in-house, many choose to outsource their monitoring to professional vendors. These monitoring services often come with support to help you respond to threats and breaches.
Training: Training means you are offering your engineering, cybersecurity, and other teams continuous education about how to avoid cybersecurity pitfalls so that every product and system you build is secure by design. While some companies assign the task of ongoing education to internal team members, many businesses find it cheaper, faster, and easier to bring in a professional education company.
With those definitions in mind, let’s turn to the top 3 challenges so we can understand how monitoring, support, and training can impact your cybersecurity investment options.
The Top 3 Cybersecurity Challenges for SMBs, and What You Can Do About Them
1. Protection From Impersonation Attacks
An impersonation attack is a sophisticated cyberattack where a hacker poses as one of your close personal contacts. In business, impersonation attacks are usually emails or texts, but they may also appear in your social media inboxes. The cyberattacker may impersonate your boss or a coworker to trick you into sending them confidential information about your company. Typically, the hacker is looking to leverage this sensitive information for financial gain.
Monitoring and support can help by keeping an eye on your networks and systems to identify these bad actors, then provide you with a playbook for how to respond when threats arise.
Education will help your IT and engineering team limit the opportunities these bad actors have to breach your system, plus help your entire organization recognize and report the threat before any damage is done.
2. Obtaining Affordable Cyber Insurance
Cyber insurance has been made essential by our ever-changing digital landscape, but finding cyber insurance that suits the needs of your SMB and fits your budget can be an intimidating task. Cyber insurance coverage can protect your business by covering expenses, such as financial loss attributed to data breaches and other cyberattacks.
Educating your team about potential cybersecurity threats to your business helps your organization make an informed decision when choosing cyber insurance.
3. Strengthening Networks and Systems
Running a secure business requires a strong cyber defense against cybercriminals, including 24/7 monitoring of systems.
Monitoring and support keeps an eye on networks and systems in order to alleviate downtimes, stop cybercriminals in their tracks, and address vulnerabilities.
Business owners can teach engineering, security, and IT teams to think like a hacker and avoid vulnerabilities altogether. The best way to teach these skills is by providing opportunities for ongoing cybersecurity education.
Taking the First Steps Towards a More Secure Business
No matter where you fall on the cybersecurity spectrum, you likely stand to benefit from investing in professional monitoring and support, as well as education for your employees.
Monitoring and Support: Uprite Services can help your business build a strong cyber defense with their cybersecurity and managed IT services. Uprite is an award-winning managed IT and cybersecurity provider specializing in solutions to streamline your Texas business. Reach out to us today through our website or by dialing 866-570-3065 to discover a solution that is right for you.
Alexandra Riley
Marketing Specialist
(281) 956-2270
alexandra.riley@uprite.com
Training: MetaCTF can help if you are looking to educate your engineering, security, or IT team on how to build a more secure business. Their Capture-the-Flag style trainings are highly engaging and offer first-hand experience in real-world scenarios. Schedule a demo here or contact us at contact@metactf.com!