A Practical Guide to Cybersecurity

In the dynamic cybersecurity landscape, making cyber hygiene a priority is essential to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Here’s why:

• Risk and readiness: 43% of cyberattacks target SMBs, yet only 14% are adequately prepared. Investing in cyber hygiene is essential for resiliency
• Costly consequences: The median cost of an SMB cyberattack is $8,300. Data breaches can cost U.S. companies with fewer than 500 employees up to $3.31 million
• Brand and productivity impact: Neglecting cyber hygiene leads to lost productivity, customer attrition, and damage to your brand reputation

But with limited budgets and unique challenges, where do you start? We recommend a robust cyber hygiene to protect against attacks, but here are the areas you should address

A Practical Guide

Whether you’re starting from scratch or enhancing your existing security, here’s a concise, at-a-glance roadmap to follow:

• Web content protection: block access to malicious websites and customize content filtering (e.g., gambling, adult content)
• Email defense: leverage advanced machine learning to catch spam and quarantine suspicious emails for review
• Multifactor authentication (MFA): require an extra layer of authentication (e.g., PIN via mobile)
• Password management: cyber hygiene demands a unique, complex passwords for each system. You should also monitor the dark web for stolen passwords
• Security awareness training: provide simulated phishing exercises for employees and identify users needing additional training
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): utilize AI-driven threat protection and real-time quarantining of suspicious processes
• Vulnerability scanning: perform regular scans for network weaknesses and address outdated software and misconfigurations
• Advisory services: use an IT services expert for compliance guidance and to review the benefits of cyber insurance coverage

Here’s how we provide basic cybersecurity to our clients (in 3 minutes):

VIDEO – PCGiT’S CYBERSECURITY PACKAGES >

This post is a summary of a recent Seacoast Online IT Insight feature. Read the full article here.

JoAnn Hodgdon is vice president and co-founder of PCGiT with her husband, Dave.

PCG provides comprehensive managed IT services, business continuity, security, cloud computing and virtual CIO services to their clients.

Reach out to her at joann@pcgit.com with comments or story ideas.