Researchers have discovered a startling 600% rise in cybercrime since the Covid-19 outbreak began. According to different research by Check Point Research (CPR), there are currently more than 1,130 assaults per company per week on average worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) advancements have made it possible for hostile actors to develop more advanced attack methods and carry out operations on a much larger scale than ever before. Sadly, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are becoming their preferred target.

SMEs have historically made insufficient investments in cybersecurity, making them a particularly susceptible category (SMEs are considered small with 5 to 99 employees, and medium-sized with 100 to 499 employees). As their IT teams are often tiny, leaders are frequently surprised by cybersecurity difficulties since they believe that any problems are already under control.

Moreover, SMEs have historically been economically unable to afford the cutting-edge tools and knowledge used to safeguard major corporations, leaving them to fend for themselves.

The high-level cybersecurity strategy I use with SME customers as a CTO for hire will be described in this post. This is a risky, dynamic, and complicated issue domain. There isn’t a universal fix that will always be effective. The information provided here should be viewed as a beginning point for comprehending typical dangers and a few high-level repair techniques.

Reviewing what’s at risk will help us get started. We are attempting to steer clear of four main consequences.

The high-level cybersecurity strategy I use with SME customers as a CTO for hire will be described in this post. This is a risky, dynamic, and complicated issue domain. There isn’t a universal fix that will always be effective. The information provided here should be viewed as a beginning point for comprehending typical dangers and a few high-level repair techniques.

Also Read: The Digital Transformation of Indian SMEs: How video Conferencing adds Value

Reviewing what’s at risk will help us get started. We are attempting to steer clear of four important possibilities.

• Data theft includes the theft of credit card information, personally identifiable information, and any other type of information that you would not want criminals or the general public to have access to.
• Intellectual property theft includes the stealing of source code, digital assets, or anything else that is valuable to your company.
• Unauthorized usage of computing resources is referred to as resource theft. Recently, it has become a particularly common problem for processing resources to be stolen and used to power cryptocurrency miners. This type of theft may cost a lot of money and make you exposed to additional assaults.
• Loss of access: Ransomware assaults are meant by this. In this case, thieves prevent you from accessing your machines until a ransom is paid. Even if you pay the ransom, you are unfortunately still exposed to all of the potential scenarios mentioned above with no assurances of return. High stakes exist, particularly for people who lack preparation. The good news is that SMEs have an edge over their larger competitors since they can more readily reduce their attack surface through the wise use of third-party services. By limiting the number of systems that SMEs directly control, they may depend on the specialized cybersecurity knowledge of their vendors and decrease the complexity of their own systems that can be readily abused.

An appropriate comparison would be to keep your family jewels in a bank safety deposit box as opposed to trying to conceal them in your house. This strategy frequently results in some quick victories.

Among the most popular techniques for reducing your attack surface are:

• Don’t continue to manage your own infrastructure: Leave it to the professionals unless you have a solid business case for storing and managing your own servers. Virtually anything an SME would want has a cost-effective solution available through the public cloud. Also, you will be able to use enterprise-level security tools and equipment for less money than it would cost to buy your own.

Remember that cloud hosting does not automatically provide a secure environment. For appropriate setup, seek professional assistance.

• Avoid handling sensitive information if you don’t need to: Don’t handle or keep the information yourself, for instance, if you’re processing credit cards online. The majority of credit card processors provide a hosted option, which means the entire transaction is handled on their platform rather than yours. Since you have never handled sensitive data, you can maintain less sensitive transaction details on your end.
• Hire a professional to regularly inspect your environment: Do not put your faith in your internal developers, system administrators, or DevOps engineers to manage it. No one can keep up with the threat landscape part-time because it is changing too quickly. You need someone in particular who can assess your security from a distance and collaborate with your team to address the issues.

• Establish a recovery plan for your multi-layer backup strategy: It’s common for sophisticated attackers to infiltrate your backup system, so think about keeping numerous independent backups in different places. Be careful to keep copies of your source code offline. Support this with a tried-and-true plan to rebuild your environment from start in the event of a catastrophe, such as a ransomware assault.

• Have your employees given training: An hour of training on how to spot a phishing email or text might one day rescue your business. Despite the sophistication of today’s hackers, many attempts still rely on time-tested scams to gain in. It doesn’t matter how secure your home is if someone lets a burglar in by opening a door for them.

According to the data trend, cybercrime is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. Modern technological platforms’ newest automation technologies have also made it possible for inexperienced thieves to launch complex assaults on a large number of exposed targets.

Formerly untargeted businesses can suddenly find themselves in the firing line. The positive aspect of the situation is that SMBs now have access to an unprecedented number of cybersecurity professionals and solutions. The new truth is that any SME’s business strategy now needs to include cybersecurity. Every small- or medium-sized firm might be destroyed by a single strike. It would be sage to start putting together immediately.

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