In other posts we have talked about what cybersecurity is, in addition to highlighting its value in the business world. Well, large companies today do not hesitate to invest in this matter. Because the security not only of your company depends on it, but also of your trajectory and trust on which clients rely to hire them. Regardless of the sector, if a company is attacked and fails to solve the problem, in addition to seeing affected customers, it is a great disappointment. But when we talk about cybersecurity for SMEs, the picture changes. Because they are in the digital environment, they are also exposed to this situation. However, there are viable options for them to prepare for these cases.
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Importance of cybersecurity for SMEs
Cybersecurity for SMEs, although it has differences with those applied by large companies, does not mean that it is less effective. This focuses on creating a preventive method to prevent the company from being compromised in said situation . Therefore, less technical methods are usually used, but they manage to raise awareness among the workers .
And now we ask ourselves, why is security relevant in SMEs? The answer is simple, because this is how they manage to keep their information safe. Even if a company does not have large movements of money or is related to large companies, the data it uses must still be kept private. Not just for themselves, but for their clients.
In addition, being the victim of an attack is generally not something casual, malware exists because it seeks something from companies. Either money or some profitable action for the attackers. The motivation for this act is criminal and detrimental to the company. Which often ends in the request for large amounts of money, in exchange for returning control of the company’s infrastructure. Although many times these agreements are not entirely reliable .
However, if a new SME has only been on the market for a short time and does not have a large amount of capital, it could lead to its bankruptcy. Being one of the worst scenarios that any company can face.
Also Read: Cybersecurity: Risks And Threats
How to apply cybersecurity for SMEs? 5 steps of success
Now, to avoid this situation, there are different cybersecurity solutions for SMEs. Such as :
1. Identify vulnerabilities
It is necessary to carry out a diagnosis in the accounts, software and systems used by the company . Likewise, with the devices and equipment used. In this way we know the current situation and what are the aspects that must be solved in the first instance .
2. Create a cybersecurity plan for SMEs
Once the different incidents or problems have been specified, we must create a plan to solve them . This is how a cybersecurity strategy is necessary, in which the steps to follow in the event of an incident should be examined. In this way, workers will know how to act quickly and thus reduce the damage that the attack can cause .
The goal is to prepare workers for such situations and even for problems and potential failures that may occur but are not necessarily the result of an attack. In many cases, these attacks tend to have a very strong impact because companies do not prepare enough to deal with the situation .
3. Protect equipment and devices
It is necessary that each device and equipment have an adequate level of security , to prevent it from becoming infected and having vulnerabilities. Since this scenario is unfavorable, because malware could take advantage of this situation to leak information and harm the company .
Likewise, the computer infrastructure, software and systems must be reviewed correctly to avoid an attack through them. Especially if the company’s service is purely digital. Since in the face of the public and clients the attack is very evident and this will cause insecurity in them .
4. Train employees on computer security measures in the company
We have mentioned before that creating a cybersecurity plan for SMEs at work is determining the good practices that workers should use. It is not only for creating a manual, but many times the failures are made due to staff errors. And this happens because they do not know how to surf the Internet properly or how to work correctly in the company’s internal system .
This is why training staff, creating a newsletter and providing them with help to perform their tasks well, is essential .
5. Update the data protection system
There is something that every person in the area of cybersecurity and information technology must recognize. Every year what we know in these areas tends to evolve. Therefore, the update must be constant , not only about new practices and methods, but about attacks that are becoming more and more sophisticated. The latter is an activity that must be permanent and goes hand in hand with updating cybersecurity methods and the plan to resolve incidents. In this way, the system will be more and more effective.
Also Read: How To Measure Cybersecurity Risk?
