Securing Your Small Business Network in 2024

Introduction

Keeping your small business network secure in 2024 will be more important than ever. As technology evolves, so do the threats against it. Small businesses can be especially vulnerable to cyber attacks due to limited budgets and resources. However, by taking proactive steps and employing best practices, you can protect your business data and operations. In this article, I will provide an in-depth look at how to secure your small business network in 2024.

Perform Risk Assessments

The first step is to perform risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities in your network. This allows you to focus your time and resources on the highest priority risks. As part of the assessment, I recommend:

• Taking an inventory of all devices and systems connected to your network. This includes computers, servers, mobile devices, cloud applications, wireless access points and more.

• Identifying what data is stored and processed on those systems. This especially includes sensitive customer, employee and financial information.

• Determining potential entry points into your network such as email, websites and removable media.

• Evaluating access controls like user accounts and passwords.

• Considering vulnerabilities like outdated software and lack of patching.

Regular risk assessments allow you to understand threats and vulnerabilities before they become incidents. I suggest conducting assessments at least annually.

Implement Strong Access Controls

One of the best ways to secure your network is through strong access controls. This limits access to authorized users only. Some best practices include:

• Requiring strong passwords that are at least 12 characters long, use upper/lower case letters, numbers and symbols.

• Enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for logins, especially cloud services and remote access.

• Setting access permissions on a need-to-know basis.

• Promptly deleting accounts for employees who leave the company.

• Using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords.

• Employing physical security controls like ID badges and locked doors to restrict access.

Proper access controls make it exponentially more difficult for unauthorized users to get into your systems.

Maintain Up-To-Date Software

Outdated software represents one of the most common vulnerabilities exploited by cyber criminals. It is critical that you:

• Install software patches and updates as soon as they become available.

• Phase out unsupported software that no longer receives updates.

• Automate updates where possible with tools like Microsoft Windows Update.

• Prioritize updates for exposed services like email servers, websites, and VPNs.

• Test patches before broadly deploying when feasible.

Keeping software updated does require some maintenance overhead. However, it is much less disruptive than dealing with a major malware attack or data breach due to an unpatched vulnerability.

Utilize a Firewall

Firewalls function as a gatekeeper for your network activity, allowing legitimate traffic while blocking malicious traffic. For small business networks, I recommend considering:

• Software firewalls built into modern operating systems or endpoint security software. This provides basic protection at little to no cost.

• Hardware firewall appliances for more advanced configurations and traffic shaping capabilities. Sophos and SonicWall offer good small business options.

• Cloud firewall services such as Zscaler or Check Point CloudGuard that can filter traffic at scale.

• Web application firewalls (WAF) to protect public facing servers and applications from attacks.

Layered firewall defenses provide visibility into your network activity and help prevent unauthorized access.

Secure Endpoints

In addition to traditional firewalls, each endpoint on your network needs security:

• Install antivirus/antimalware software on servers and workstations to detect and block malware. Microsoft Defender is a good basic option.

• Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to provide additional monitoring and threat response capabilities. Look at SentinelOne, CrowdStrike or Trend Micro.

• Require full disk encryption on laptops and mobile devices to protect data at rest.

• Restrict installation of unauthorized software through application allowlisting.

• Automatically keep endpoints patched by employing tools like Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.

Securing each endpoint creates layered defenses to protect your network in depth.

Secure Wireless Access

If your small business utilizes wireless networking:

• Make sure you change default admin passwords on wireless routers and access points.

• Disable WPS which allows easy connection to the wireless network.

• Use WPA2 or WPA3 encryption at a minimum to secure wireless traffic.

• Hide your SSID so only authorized users know how to connect.

• Segment wireless users into their own network zone with firewall policies.

• Use advanced options like MAC address filtering for more granular control.

Wireless networks introduce multiple security risks but can be used safely if configured properly.

Leverage Cloud Security Tools

Cloud services provide excellent security tools to small businesses at affordable monthly rates. I recommend exploring:

• Secure web gateways like Zscaler to filter malicious sites and content.

• Cloud access security brokers (CASB) to manage SaaS application access.

• Denial of service (DOS) protection offered by many CDNs and DNS providers.

• Cloud backups to securely store and recover data.

• Cloud access management for centralized authentication and authorization.

By taking advantage of cloud capabilities, small businesses can gain enterprise-grade protection.

Provide Security Awareness Training

Your employees are critical to protecting your business from cyber threats. Invest in security awareness training to:

• Explain company policies and procedures related to data, devices, passwords and applications.

• Make security top of mind for employees with newsletters, reminders and alerts.

• Simulate phishing attempts to improve skills at identifying scams.

• Demonstrate how to securely use cloud services like Office 365 and social media.

• Offer incentives for identifying potential issues.

Empowered employees that take security seriously can become your first line of defense.

Enlist a Managed Service Provider

Managing network security with limited internal resources can prove challenging. Consider partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) to:

• Monitor endpoints, firewalls and servers 24/7 to rapidly detect threats.

• Provide troubleshooting assistance and device management.

• Supply necessary security software and hardware.

• Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration tests.

• Deliver required security expertise on-demand.

The right MSP can cost-effectively extend your IT staff and improve security.

Conclusion

Securing your small business network and data may seem overwhelming but doesn’t need to be. By approaching security in layers, leveraging the cloud and involving your staff, you can implement an effective defense tailored to your specific risks and budget realities in 2024. A proactive approach reduces the chances of disruptive cyber events that could impact your ability to serve customers and maintain operations. If you have any other questions on securing your small business network, I would be happy to provide additional advice and recommendations.