By now, everyone is pretty aware of how cyberthreats can disrupt day-to-day life and cause a lot of trouble for businesses. This is especially true here in Nashville, as the last few years have seen multiple high-level attacks against local healthcare providers.
A major problem with successful cyberattacks is that they tend to encourage more attacks in perpetuity. Healthcare providers have seen a staggering 264 percent increase in ransomware attacks over the last five years.
If we zoom out and look at small businesses in general, an overwhelming 85 percent of ransomware attacks target small businesses. These attacks tend to go unnoticed by the general population of Nashville, as they don’t affect as many customers or end up getting covered on the news. Still, cyberthreats can cause major disruptions to businesses and lead to extremely costly consequences.
It's time to buckle up and get serious about cybersecurity.
Why are Cybercriminals Targeting Nashville's Small Businesses?
You might be wondering, "Why are small businesses in Nashville being targeted?" Well, cybercriminals often see smaller businesses as easy prey. They assume that you might not have the same level of security as larger companies. Unfortunately, this makes small businesses attractive targets for hackers looking to steal sensitive data or disrupt operations.
Cybercrime comes in many forms—phishing emails, ransomware, and data breaches, to name a few. Some of these threats are highly targeted, while others can be broadcasted out with a wide net and treated as a numbers game.
Regardless, these threats can lead to stolen customer information, financial loss, and reputational damage. The good news is that by understanding these threats, you can take steps to protect your business.
Cybersecurity for Nashville Businesses
Invest in Security Infrastructure
It's crucial to have robust security software installed on all business devices. Centralized antivirus software, firewalls, and anti-malware tools are your most basic line of defense against cyber threats. Make sure these programs are updated regularly to tackle the latest threats.
These solutions, however, don’t make your business completely immune to threats. They stop the basic problems from causing havoc on your network, but the worst threats ignore your basic protections altogether.
Implement Strong Password Policies
Encourage your team to use strong, unique passwords for all their accounts and enforce it whenever possible. Consider implementing a password manager to help them keep track of their credentials. Additionally, two-factor authentication can add an extra layer of security.
Enforce Two-Factor Authentication
While most online accounts have started to enforce two-factor or multi-factor authentication, it’s a good idea for businesses to require it as well for Windows logins and other critical applications, especially those that can be accessed remotely.
Providing an official, centrally managed 2FA app will help standardize and simplify this process, as you want to avoid relying on SMS and email for authentication, as it isn’t as secure and reliable.
Data Encryption
Encrypting sensitive data is another crucial step to ensure compliance. This makes it much harder for cybercriminals to access your information if they do manage to breach your defenses.
Data encryption should happen at multiple levels; your devices should be encrypted and require a password before they even get to the Windows login. Mobile device policies should require that Android and iOS devices be encrypted too. Communication from outside of your network should be encrypted via a VPN.
Security Policies
You should be seeing a pattern here. Most of the items above aren’t major investments you need to make; instead, they are policies to put in place. Proper security policies take time to establish, maintain, and review occasionally, but that’s the nature of modern cybersecurity protections. It’s not about throwing money at the problem in certain cases, it’s about enforcing policies across your network, ensuring that employees don’t have access to sensitive information they don’t need access to, and making sure that standard best practices are in place across your entire organization.
Active Monitoring and Rapid Response
This is a big one. With all the systems in place protecting your organization, you need someone to govern them and monitor for issues. Here’s how we do this for our clients:
We use extremely high-end, enterprise-grade security monitoring software that is usually cost-prohibitive for smaller organizations. This is the stuff the big guys use. It allows our cybersecurity experts to see everything across your entire network in real-time, so if something suspicious happens, we’re alerted and can react to it swiftly before it becomes a problem. This can pick up a ton of issues while they are still in the early stages of infiltration, so it is much less likely to affect your bottom line.
Educate Your Staff and Create a Culture of Cybersecurity
One of the biggest steps to combat cybercrime is to ensure your team knows what to look for. Regular training sessions can help your employees identify phishing emails and other cyber threats. The more informed your team is, the less likely they'll fall for scams.
This means encouraging, training, and even enforcing staff to use company-provided password managers and 2FA apps, providing ongoing cybersecurity training, and running phishing simulation campaigns.
Compliance is Key
Staying compliant with cybersecurity regulations is not just a good practice—it's a legal necessity. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines and penalties. Make sure your business follows all necessary guidelines to protect customer data and meet industry standards.
Regular Audits
Conduct regular cybersecurity audits to ensure that your business complies with cybersecurity regulations and doesn’t have any massive holes in its security. This will help you identify vulnerabilities and address them before they become a problem.
Don’t Let Your Business Become a Statistic
Cybercrime in Nashville is real, and small businesses are on the front lines. But with the right strategies in place, you can protect your business from becoming a statistic. By educating your team, investing in the right software, and staying compliant, you can keep your data safe and your business running smoothly. Remember, when it comes to cybersecurity, a proactive approach is always the best defense.
You can get started by setting up a meeting with our cybersecurity experts. Give us a call at (270) 282-4926.
