As a managed service provider, we talk to a lot of small business owners. Most of them are busy juggling everything from sales to staffing and understandably, cybersecurity isn’t always at the top of the to-do list. Unfortunately, threats from outside your business aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’re getting more sophisticated.
That’s why we’re here: to give you the straight facts about the most common outside threats we see targeting small businesses, and how you can protect yourself before things get messy.
Phishing emails are basically short cons. They look real; they act real; but they’re designed to trick you into clicking a bad link or handing over credentials. We’ve seen fake invoices, bogus password reset requests, and even emails that look like they came from the boss.
We implement email security tools that catch most of these before they ever hit your inbox and we offer staff training to help your team spot the fakes that slip through.
Imagine walking into work and finding your computer files locked behind a ransom note. That’s ransomware. It’s one of the most damaging types of malware, and small businesses are easy targets because they often have less protection in place.
We deploy layered antivirus, keep systems patched, and set up off-site backups so you can recover quickly without paying a ransom.
Hackers don’t always need a fancy plan. Sometimes they just use bots to guess your password—over and over again—until they get in. If your login is admin and your password is password123 it won’t take long.
We enforce strong password policies, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), and monitor for suspicious login attempts so we can lock things down fast.
Even if your own systems are secure, your business could still be exposed through a third-party provider. We’ve seen breaches happen because a payroll company, scheduling app, or cloud platform got hit, and suddenly client data was in the wind.
We help you vet your vendors, manage third-party access, and monitor for unusual activity. We also keep your software stack updated and patched.
Not every cyberattack is technical. Sometimes it’s just someone pretending to be tech support calling your office and asking for a password. These personal hacks can be surprisingly effective, especially if your staff isn’t trained to spot the red flags.
We provide ongoing cybersecurity awareness training (yes, with real-life examples) and put in policies that make it easier for your employees to verify who’s legit.
No one expects small business owners to be cybersecurity experts. That’s our job. But the more you understand the threats coming from outside your business, the better we can work together to keep your data, your clients, and your operations safe.
If you’ve been putting off thinking about cybersecurity, consider this your friendly nudge. Whether you’re a two-person shop or a growing company with multiple locations, the right protections now can save you a mountain of trouble later.
If you would like help with your organizational cybersecurity, give us a call today at 317-759-3972 to have a conversation.
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