A ransomware attack on a small business usually doesn't end with a payout. It ends with the doors closing. Big companies make the headlines because they pay enormous sums to get their data back and keep running. Small businesses rarely have that option.
Look at what made the news. In May, a cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline disrupted fuel supplies along the East Coast for several days. The company and the FBI paid hackers $4.4 million in Bitcoin to regain control. Colonial wasn't alone. The NBA, Kia Motors and JBS Foods were all hit by attacks where hackers demanded millions. CD Projekt RED, a Polish video game developer, got attacked too. They had backups in place, so they never paid the ransom.
These are all big organizations, but that doesn't mean small businesses are safe. The opposite is true. These stories made the news because the victims could pay millions to get their data back. A small or mid-size business can't write that check. So hackers go after what an SMB does have: customer and employee information, financial records, account statements. When that data is locked up or stolen and there's no way to recover it, the business often shuts down for good.
2021 set a record for cyber-attacks, and 2022 is shaping up the same way. If you own a business, here are two things to put in place now.
Hand your IT to a managed services provider
Plenty of owners still think security is something they don't need or can't afford. Both ideas get businesses hurt. Any company can be a target, and a managed services provider (MSP) is one of the cheapest ways to keep your network and your data protected. You get a team watching it without hiring one.
A good MSP finds the weak points in your setup and fixes them before someone else finds them first. The work is proactive: around-the-clock monitoring, data backup and recovery, firewall and network protection, real-time threat prevention. You also get IT people on call for whatever else comes up. CD Projekt RED walked away from its ransom because backups were ready. That's the kind of preparation an MSP handles for you.
If you want to talk through whether an MSP fits your business, reach out and we'll answer your questions.
Build a team that knows what an attack looks like
Most attacks start with an employee mistake. Someone clicks the wrong link or trusts the wrong message. So train people. Cover security the day you hire someone, then run a refresher for everyone at least once a year.
Teach the things people actually run into: phishing emails and texts, malware downloads, social media scams, and good password habits. If anyone works remotely, make sure their devices are protected too. People who know what a threat looks like spot it before it spreads. Training only works if the whole team takes it seriously.
Attacks hit new highs in 2021, and the count looks set to climb again this year. Do these two things and your business is far less likely to become another statistic. If you're not sure where to start, give us a call and we'll help.