Here’s an interesting fact: In 2012, companies with just one to 250 employees — what we commonly think of as small businesses — were the victims in more than 30 percent of all cyber attacks. Entrepreneur Magazine cites this statistic, taken from the 2013 Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec, to prove a point: Even small businesses need a cybersecurity plan.
Anti-Virus Software Matters
The Entrepreneur story says that the first step in any cybersecurity plan is anti-virus software. As the story says, this software is a must for small business owners. Anti-virus software isn’t perfect, and especially clever viruses can slip past it, but businesses that don’t have any anti-virus protection are setting themselves up for a massive hack.
Suspicious E-mails
Next, small businesses should make sure that their employees understand how important it is to delete e-mail messages that seem suspicious, whether sent by known or unknown senders. Businesses should also remind their employees to never click on the links contained in these suspicious e-mail messages. Not all employees will listen or remember. But many will.
Firewalls
Entrepreneur also recommends that small businesses use firewalls to protect their inbound and outbound network traffic. Firewalls can keep hackers from tapping into a small business’ network. Firewalls can also block employees from accessing potentially dangerous Web sites.