Small businesses are increasingly a target-rich environment for cyber criminals, scammers and ransomware groups — and an attack can cost business owners plenty.
Just in 2021, the FBI received nearly 20,000 complaints about business email compromise scams and attacks with losses of about $2.4 billion, according to a recent report. Those scams involved hijacking existing email accounts and asking for money or critical information that is then used against the business.
“But now we have ransomware-as-a-service. If you wanted to start your own cyber-terrorist organization, you used to have to know people,” Natarajan said. “You don’t have to do that anymore. Now all you need is bitcoin and an enemy, and you can hire people to do this for you.”Don’t tape your passwords to your keyboard: That’s not meant to be dismissive, according to Natarajan. Small-business owners need to up their game when it comes to their login information.
Explore cyber insurance: Not every business needs to have cyber insurance, and that type of insurance is often becoming harder to get or qualify for, he said. Think about where you sit in the supply chain and where your services or products are going. A bakery with a point-of-sales system might not need cyber insurance, but a firm whose parts or expertise goes into critical equipment or infrastructure might want to explore their options.