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Regarding the subject of corporate cyberattacks, many people think of newsworthy data breaches at massive companies. The truth is that cyberattacks are rampant among small businesses as well, highlighting the need for cyber security training for small business teams.
In fact, CNBC reports that 43% of all data breaches affect small and medium-sized businesses. The same survey reports that only 28% of small businesses have a cyber security plan in place at all.
If you need help on where to begin with cybersecurity awareness for small businesses, use this guide as a jumping-off point.
Cyber security is just as important as physical security, if not more so in the digital era.
Physical security threats are easy to identify and protect against. Cyber threats can be even more damaging, but it can be difficult to visualize and understand them.
A key reason is that digital technologies grow more complex every day. At the same time, hackers and other cyber criminals exploit new ways to infiltrate your data. That makes constant vigilance with cyber security training for a small business essential.
No small business owner would leave a door at their physical location unlocked, but many neglect the threat of cyberattacks. Every computer on your company’s network is a potential entry point for a hacker.
A sobering statistic is the fact that the average data breach for companies with fewer than 500 employees costs $2.98 million. This is because a cyberattack can leak confidential inside data and proprietary information to competitors or the general public.
A breach can also leak customers’ sensitive data, such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers. This could decimate public trust in your business. Therefore, comprehensive small business cyber security training for all employees is the digital equivalent of locking your business’s doors to protect yourself and your clients.
Here are four components you need to cover in cyber security training for a small business.
Most successful cyberattacks don’t rely on advanced technology. Instead, hackers use a technique called social engineering to manipulate employees into handing over passwords and other sensitive information. Like con artists, these hackers pretend to be trustworthy individuals. Many have believable stories explaining why they need sensitive information.
Employees require training and a solid plan from management to recognize and respond to social engineering threats. Hackers often use the real names of people related to the business along with proper spelling and grammar.
A good way to recognize social engineering scams is to identify if the message puts emotional pressure on the reader to act quickly. You can also give employees a rigid system of procedures they can use to vet incoming requests.
Phishing is similar to social engineering, but instead of impersonating an individual, a phishing scam impersonates an institution. Phishing attacks resemble a login screen for a government portal, bank, or commonly used application. These fake portals gather passwords and other sensitive information, similar to a false card reader on an ATM.
Good cyber security training for a small business teaches employees how to distinguish between real institutions and phishing. For instance, training shares listed numbers employees can call for real institutions if they are unsure if a communication is genuine. Employees also learn to avoid sending passwords or sensitive information over email.
A business’s information is only as secure as its individual passwords. Most attacks use phishing and social engineering to obtain passwords, but computer programs can attempt to guess passwords as well. Some of these programs can input thousands of password guesses per minute.
Many older password security strategies — such as requiring a special character, uppercase letter, or number — have limited effectiveness against modern hackers. Unconventional strategies, such as stringing together four common words instead of incorporating symbols, have drawbacks as well.
Left to their own devices, many employees choose the most obvious passwords the system allows. If employees write down more complex passwords to aid their memory, they open the business’s network to security risks. Cyber security training for a small business can emphasize the importance of strong passwords, but there are other methods to improve password security.
Most experts recommend a central database that assigns strong passwords, rather than requiring employees to create their own. If your business opts for this method, the password for the central database itself must be unique and highly secure.
Cyberattacks are hard to visualize for many people. Clearly explaining the business consequences of cyberattacks is an essential module in an awareness training program.
Conduct a tailored cyber security risk assessmentfor your business to improve this module. Identifying specific threats will customize an awareness program to your field, making the program both more engaging and more effective for employees.
A few smart strategies can optimize cyber security training for small businesses.
Yearly training isn’t sufficient against rapidly changing cyberattack threats. Be sure to stay on top of new hacking strategies and mandate training throughout the year.
Modern cyberattack social engineering scams are difficult to detect, unlike older email scams. Employees will be more engaged if the training program takes a neutral tone when delivering information. A nonjudgmental tone also encourages employees to reach out for help with suspicious emails, reducing cyberattack risk.
Be sure to put training into practice by requiring drills as part of the program. Show employees what scams look like in practice and use examples to help them identify threats.
A user-friendly guidebook or reference document is an invaluable tool. Create a database so that employees can check for cybersecurity threats on their own.
The average business spends 12% of its IT budget on cyber security. What you spend on cyber security training for a small business depends on the particulars of your company. Your industry, size, IT infrastructure, and IT budget will all play a role in your budget.
Some organizations allocate funds for cyber security by setting aside a percentage of their revenue. Others take a cost-per-employee approach. However, these methods don’t necessarily factor in the cost of a breach and a company’s risk.
The best way to understand what to spend is with regular cybersecurity risk assessments. All-in-one information security software can streamline these evaluations. Consequently, your first cyber security expense should be for reliable security software. In turn, that software can help you determine how to budget for additional training.
Cyberattacks are on the rise and target small businesses as well as large corporations. The best defense against these threats is preparation and planning.
At Compyl, we help businesses of all sizes understand and address security threats. Cyber security training for a small business is even more effective with guidance from our business technology experts. Contact us for more information on designing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy for your small business.
