Recognizing, and Defending, Small Business 

National Small Business Week is a tradition of more than 50 years recognizing the critical contributions of entrepreneurs and small business owners. But as you know, the increasing proliferation of cyberattacks can mean big trouble for Small Business.

So as the provider of cybersecurity to the undercurrent of the economy, it falls on you to educate Small Business customers on the why and how of cybersecurity.

The Small Business Cybersecurity Landscape

Today’s reality is small businesses (generally defined by the SBA as employing fewer than 500 employees) are targeted by cybercrime just as often as enterprises and large corporations. And research shows that a data breach costs small businesses $120,000 on average – a hefty sum for a small organization to absorb. Small businesses face many of the same threats as large companies, such as:

• Ransomware and other malware
• Phishing and social engineering attacks
• Business Email Compromise

Ransomware is a key example of a cyberattack that hits small businesses hard, and when it does, there are typically two options for recovery: pay the ransom (unfortunately, there’s no guarantee files will be returned) or rebuild from scratch, relying on backups. It’s no wonder that ransomware – among other threats – is a rapidly growing concern for providers and small businesses alike.

Pain Points & Problem Solving

Enterprises have entire teams dedicated to cybersecurity and can afford top-tier solutions. Small Business, however, is another story – despite facing emerging threats, they often can’t employ the same precautions. Key cybersecurity pain points for Small Business include:

• Lack of expertise: Cybersecurity can seem overwhelming, and many small businesses don’t know how to get started – or even that they should prioritize cybersecurity.
• Budget: Enterprise-level security can be expensive, and there aren’t a lot of solutions specifically built for Small Business.
• Time and availability: Owners and operators are busy, and often don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to managing cybersecurity.

This is where cybersecurity providers can make all the difference in the world. Instituting a simplified but comprehensive cybersecurity program is a great way to improve Small Business cybersecurity posture.

How can you protect your Small Business customers?

While cybersecurity can be a tough subject to broach with your customers, you’re a trusted resource in their organization and your input is valuable. Follow the Three E’s to kick off their cybersecurity protection plan:

1. Educate your customers about the real threats they face and the steps you can help them to take to protect themselves.
2. Enroll customers in your ongoing program, being sure to addresses multiple layers of cybersecurity protection.
3. Evaluate their progress continuously through regular testing, checking for vulnerabilities and identifying opportunities to improve.

When you provide cybersecurity to your customers, you hit a bonus “E:” Empower. Because of you, small businesses can truly count on continuous protection with an effective cybersecurity solution – something they likely wouldn’t have the knowledge or ability to do on their own.

Now that’s supporting Small Business!

Stay Safe,

Your Friends @ Defendify