Top Cybersecurity Best Practices For Small Businesses

Implementing cybersecurity measures is crucial for any business, regardless of size or industry. Small businesses can be especially vulnerable to cyber threats as they often have limited budgets and expertise. Adopting best practices does not have to be overly complex or expensive. Here are some of the top ways small businesses can improve their cybersecurity:

Keep Software Updated

One of the most basic yet critical things you can do is keep all software on company devices updated. This includes operating systems, applications, plugins, and firmware. Software vendors regularly release patches to fix vulnerabilities and security flaws. Failing to install these patches leaves you open to potential attacks targeting known exploits.

To ensure software stays updated:

• Enable automatic updates wherever possible. This ensures patches are installed promptly.
• Manually check for updates at least weekly for any software without auto updates. Prioritize updates that relate to security or vulnerability fixes.
• Remove unused programs and plugins as they can contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

Keeping systems patched and up to date is one of the most effective ways to protect against cyber attacks targeting known software vulnerabilities.

Use Strong Passwords

Weak or compromised passwords are behind the majority of unauthorized access and cyber attacks. Implementing strong password policies significantly reduces this common attack vector.

To maintain strong passwords:

• Enforce length requirements of at least 8 characters, with longer being ideal. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack.
• Require a mix of characters – letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid common words, phrases, or personal details.
• Mandate regular password changes, such as every 90 days. This limits the damage if a password is compromised.
• Use a password manager to generate and store unique, complex passwords. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for access.
• Prohibit password reuse across systems and sharing between employees. Reusing passwords allows lateral movement if one account is breached.

Password security may require updating systems and greater vigilance by employees, but is a foundational cybersecurity control.

Install Anti-Malware Software

Malware refers to malicious software like viruses, spyware, and ransomware that cyber criminals use to infect systems and steal data. Anti-malware software is designed to prevent, detect, and remove malware. For small businesses, it provides an important safeguard against cyber threats.

When selecting anti-malware software:

• Use solutions from reputable vendors like Malwarebytes, Webroot, and Norton. Avoid untested or outdated options.
• Ensure both anti-virus and anti-spyware capabilities. Ransomware protection is also recommended.
• Select real-time scanning so that threats are blocked before they can spread.
• Enable regular, automatic scans to detect and remove any malware that evades real-time detection.
• Manage centrally via a cloud console for efficiency and visibility.

Keeping anti-malware software up to date across all devices is key to blocking the latest malware threats targeting businesses.

Secure Company Email

Most cyber attacks and malware make initial entry through email phishing tactics. Company email accounts should be safeguarded against such threats. Recommended email security measures include:

• Implement spam filtering to block phishing emails and malware attachments.
• Train employees on phishing – how to identify and avoid malicious emails. Test them with simulated phishing emails.
• Flag external emails so employees can identify untrusted sources. Whitelist trusted partners.
• Encrypt email content and attachments in transit via TLS or similar.
• Limit attachments that pose malware risks, such as .exe files.
• Isolate or remove high-risk users prone to phishing.

A combination of technical controls and user awareness helps minimize the email threat vector. Ongoing training is key so employees can identify evolving phishing tactics.

Utilize a Firewall

Firewalls create a barrier between your internal network and external threats. While anti-malware software protects individual endpoints, a firewall secures the network perimeter as a whole. Firewalls block unauthorized access, halt malware spread, and hide devices from reconnaissance.

For small business firewalls:

• Leverage cloud-based firewalls for affordability and centralized management.
• Enable intrusion prevention to actively block known threats.
• Configure access rules tightly to only allow required traffic. Default “allow all” rules leave you exposed.
• Segment your network via VLANs to limit lateral movement if breached.
• Mask device identities using NAT to avoid targeted exploits.

Though an additional upfront cost, a properly configured firewall greatly enhances the security posture for small business networks.

Back Up Critical Data

While best practices help prevent breaches and malware, data backups provide insurance in the event of ransomware or other data loss scenarios. Backups allow restoration of systems without paying ransoms or losing critical information.

To implement robust backups:

• Use the 3-2-1 backup methodology – 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite copy.
• Store backups offline or immutable to prevent encryption or deletion by malware that compromises networks.
• Backup regularly – daily or weekly based on change rate and risk tolerance.
• Test restoration periodically to verify backups are working properly.

Maintaining recent backups of essential data, safely stored offline, gives small businesses options in a cyber attack and avoids potential business disruption.

Provide Security Training

Technical controls form the foundation of a cybersecurity program, but the human element is often the weakest link. Cybersecurity training brings awareness to employees so they change risky behaviors. Training should cover:

• Phishing identification – spotting suspicious emails, links and attachments. Use simulated phishing tests.
• Strong password creation and password manager usage.
• Safe web browsing – identifying unsafe sites, hover-checking links, using VPNs.
• Data protection – avoiding unnecessary exposure of sensitive data.
• Incident reporting – whom to notify about potential security events.

Annual cybersecurity training supplemented by periodic simulated phishing and knowledge checks measurably improves human firewall behavior.

Enforce the Principle of Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege requires that users are only granted the minimum system access privileges necessary to perform their duties. This limits damage from compromised accounts.

To implement least privilege:

• Classify data sensitivity and required user access levels.
• Implement role-based access controls tying access privileges to job functions. Avoid blanket admin-level access.
• Increase segmentation for highly sensitive systems and data stores.
• Log and audit user access to systems to identify anomalies.
• Promptly revoke access for those no longer needing it, such as terminated employees.

While least privilege increases complexity, it greatly reduces risk exposure by limiting damage from compromised credentials or insider threats.

Use Multi-factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires users provide two or more verification factors when authenticating, such as:

• Knowledge factors like passwords
• Possession factors like one-time codes from an app or token
• Inherent factors like biometrics

If one factor is compromised, MFA still blocks access, preventing stolen credentials from being utilized.

MFA should be implemented:

• For all remote access to networks, including VPNs.
• On accounts with elevated privileges like domain admin accounts.
• For cloud application access containing sensitive data.
• On employee email accounts most targeted by phishing.

Though adding a step, MFA provides significant protection against account takeovers and stolen credentials with minimal hassle.

Monitor for Threats

Ongoing monitoring provides visibility into your security posture and threat environment. IT monitoring helps quickly detect potential incidents so you can respond before major damage occurs.

Monitoring options include:

• Intrusion detection systems to flag network traffic anomalies.
• Security information & event management (SIEM) to correlate activities across systems.
• File integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized system and configuration changes.
• User behavior analytics to identify risky or anomalous employee actions.
• Dark web monitoring for compromised employee credentials or proprietary data.

Threat monitoring works hand in hand with other practices to minimize incident impact through early detection and response.

Create an Incident Response Plan

Despite best efforts, cyber incidents can still occur. Creating and practicing an incident response plan enables you to respond effectively. The plan should outline:

• Roles and responsibilities – who leads response, makes decisions, communicates?
• Detection and analysis steps – identifying, containing and investigating an incident.
• Internal/external communication – informing necessary parties like employees, customers, authorities.
• Remediation tasks – eradicating threats, restoring systems from backups, enhancing defenses.
• Documentation and reporting – capturing lessons learned for future improvement.

Having an incident response plan in place before an actual breach occurs greatly improves response capabilities when needed most.

Leverage Managed IT Providers

Given the expertise required to secure an organization, many small businesses turn to managed service providers (MSPs) for affordable IT and security assistance. MSPs can:

• Monitor endpoints and infrastructure 24/7 to rapidly detect and respond to threats.
• Manage software patch installation across operating systems and applications.
• Oversee backup and disaster recovery processes to ensure recoverability.
• Provide security awareness training with simulated phishing exercises to educate staff.
• Supply around-the-clock help desk support to keep systems operating efficiently.

Leveraging MSP expertise and resources allows small businesses to implement enterprise-grade security measures cost-effectively.

Conclusion

Small businesses can make big strides in cybersecurity by focusing on best practices like keeping software updated, using strong passwords, training employees, and leveraging outside IT expertise. Top practices maximize risk reduction without overextending limited budgets and staff resources. Making cybersecurity a priority for your organization reduces the likelihood and impact of attacks.