Practical Steps That Effectively Strengthen Security and Resilience
Small and mid-sized business leaders often tell me: “We’re too small to be a target.” It is understandable. Cybersecurity has long been framed as an enterprise problem that plagues banks, healthcare giants, members of the Fortune 500 or, at most, the Fortune 2000.
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I tell them the bad news: “The attackers know you think that.” And evidence shows they’re acting on that knowledge. Attacks against small and mid-sized businesses are growing three times faster than attacks against large enterprises.
Most attacks today are opportunistic. The bad actors scan the internet for exposed systems, misconfigurations, weak credentials and unpatched software. When they find an opening, they move. SMBs often have fewer defenses, smaller teams and less formal security processes. Attackers are also pragmatic – or lazy – and willing to collect smaller payouts if it requires less effort and involves less risk.
Small businesses are also increasingly targeted as part of larger criminal schemes. Almost every organization is now part of a supply chain. That means a compromise of a single small business can provide indirect access to much larger enterprises. As attackers refine their tactics and automate their reconnaissance, SMBs have become prime targets within a broader ecosystem of risk.
The good news is that improving cybersecurity does not require enterprise-scale spending. It requires focus. With the right fundamentals in place, small and mid-sized businesses can significantly reduce their risk and build real operational resilience.
Here are practical steps you can take to bolster your SMB security posture.
Enable Multifactor Authentication Everywhere
Multifactor authentication is the single most effective and lowest-cost security control available. Passwords are routinely exposed in large-scale data breaches, and attackers frequently reuse stolen credentials across multiple services. Even if your organization has never been breached, your employees’ passwords may already be circulating.
MFA dramatically reduces the value of stolen credentials. Most modern platforms already support MFA, making implementation relatively quicker and inexpensive.
Make sure you’re thinking across every part of your digital ecosystem. Every critical business system, cloud platform, financial application and administrative interface you depend on should require MFA. If a system doesn’t support it, it’s time to consider whether it should remain in your environment.
Implement and Test Backups
Backups are the foundation of operational resilience. They protect against ransomware, accidental data loss, insider threats and system failures. Yet many organizations either fail to test their backups or discover – often too late – that critical systems were never backed up at all. A ransomware incident is not the way you want to find out your backup plan was insufficient.
A strong backup program should include:
- Regularly updated and validated backups;
- Secure, isolated storage locations that ransomware cannot reach;
- Clear documentation on how to restore systems;
- Periodic recovery drills to verify that restoration works as expected.
A backup is not a backup until it has been tested. A reliable recovery process can mean the difference between a brief outage and a complete breakdown of business operations.
Keep Systems and Software Updated
Nearly every major breach in recent years has a common thread: attackers exploited vulnerabilities that were already known and patchable. Outdated systems, unsupported software and long-delayed updates create some of the most common and preventable attack paths inside SMB environments. Attackers prey on organizations that are slow to patch because they have small teams, complex technology stacks or just unaware of the threats they’re facing.
Fortunately, there are many ways to standardize and simplify system updates. Enable automatic updates where appropriate. Maintain a simple inventory of the systems and applications your business relies on. Pay special attention to systems exposed to the internet, since they’re the most likely targets for scanning and attack. Regular patching may not be a glamour job, but it’s essential and it closes the door on a wide range of threats that attackers can easily exploit.
Train Employees and Build a Culture of Security
Technology alone cannot secure an organization. People still make the most critical decisions, and they’re essential to the monitoring of every attack surface and operational process. Attackers know this and increasingly rely on deception rather than technical exploits. Artificial intelligence-generated phishing emails, deepfake audio and sophisticated social engineering make it harder than ever for employees to distinguish legitimate requests from fraudulent ones.
Security awareness training does not need to be heavy-handed or time-consuming. Short, relevant and frequent reinforcement works far better than annual compliance exercises.
More importantly, employees need to feel safe reporting mistakes. A culture where people hide errors out of fear will always suffer more harm during incidents. When employees understand that early reporting helps protect the business, small mistakes stay small, and response time improves dramatically.
Build a Clear Security Strategy and Track Progress
Many SMBs struggle with a lack of direction, not lack of effort. A strong security strategy that’s aligned with business priorities is the starting point.
A clear strategy requires a simple, stepwise approach:
- Assess your current security posture;
- Define your priorities based on impact and feasibility;
- Track progress regularly and measure the results.
The best strategies often are not the most complex. They focus on the assets that matter most, the risks most likely to impact the business and the practical steps required to reduce those risks. They should support broad business goals such as reliability, customer trust, compliance and operational resilience. Most importantly, you need to be able to measure their effectiveness. Even simple monthly check-ins against a short list of goals can drive meaningful progress and prevent stagnation.
Yet even when they have strategic thinkers on hand, many SMBs are stretched thin and few have dedicated security leadership. This is where fractional security leadership can change the game. The fractional option can deliver experienced guidance, structure and oversight without the cost or complexity of hiring a full-time executive – provided you know what expertise and capabilities to look for.
Cybersecurity can appear overwhelming. The good news is that covering the fundamentals can still deliver results.
Don’t make the mistake of chasing perfection – even the richest enterprises can’t achieve it. Instead, commit to thoughtful, consistent decisions and follow-through that safeguard your ability to operate, serve customers and grow. No matter what your business does or whose job it is to secure it, you can complicate attackers’ objectives and build a secure foundation by keeping the fundamentals in mind.