Why and How to Secure Small Business Networks

PART 1: SMART SECURITY SOFTWARE – AND GOOD CYBER HYGIENE – ARE KEY IN THE WFH ERA

50% increase in use of cloud services from January to April 2020 (McAfee)

2x access of cloud services from unmanaged devices (without company-managed security) from January to April 2020 (McAfee, 2020)

33% increase in malware attacks in Q1 2020 compared to Q4 2019 (McAfee Covid 19 report)

600% increase in phishing attempts in April to May 2020 (Security Boulevard)

630% increase in threats targeting cloud services from January to April 2020 (McAfee)

part one of three

As quickly as small businesses were able to adapt to the new realities of working from home, using collaboration software, videoconferencing and cloud services to keep connected and keep productive, cybercriminals have adapted almost as quickly.

Research shows that hackers are now focusing their efforts on security gaps that were better managed in offices. Fortunately for small businesses, there are software and network security tools that can help provide a shield for home workers. The foundation of security is a strong and smart security solution like McAfee Small Business Security. This solution can be deployed across devices and will help keep critical business data – and your reputation – secure even as you shift to newways of doing work.

The good news is better security is a long-term investment. Whether work shifts back to offices, remains in the home permanently or becomes a type of hybrid work model, having better security can keep you covered.

Best practices for small business employees working at home If your small business has shifted to remote work, it is especially important to take proactive action to secure your devices, logins and critical information.

• Help to ensure devices and networks are protected via security software: Workers may have needed to switch to personal computers and mobile devices more than when they were in the office. Working from home also means logging in from a home network. Threat detection and security software should be applied to all machines used for work, and a VPN will let workers connect to business files and accounts more safely.

• Beware of phishing attempts: Phishing emails may play on the fears of the times; specifically, there has been a notable surge of phishing attempts presented as offers to sell masks, or including links to faked sites tracking the spread of Covid 19. These attacks attempted to place malware or harvest information that could be used to hack into and harm the business.

• Use dashboards to multiply your visibility: Small businesses rarely have the luxury of dedicated cyber security IT support. Make use of security platforms that can monitor many types of threats simultaneously. Using a dashboard lets one person keep their eyes on all the most likely threats at a glance.

Pay special attention to security on cloud services With collaboration software use skyrocketing and given the business- critical information often shared through these solutions, it’s no surprise that cybercriminals have especially aimed their attacks at gaining access to collaboration accounts.

In a recent McAfee study, attacks on cloud services increased 630% from January to April 2020, typically using stolen credentials. The attacks were detected by McAfee by looking for logins from unusual places not associated with the user’s account, or by looking for a user who tried to log into multiple accounts from widely spaced locations at the same time.

Using software that applies sophisticated security techniques like these, small businesses can help protect their vital information, avoid losses due to account compromise or ransomware, and be better prepared for whatever the workplace of the future looks like.

Check back tomorrow for part two: How server security plays a significant role in protecting small businesses today.