Small businesses are just as vulnerable as big corporate houses in terms of data security. You must realize that cyber threats are not really a problem limited to governments and big organizations, even small businesses could be targets of cyber-attacks. As per the findings of research undertaken by the BBB or Better Business Bureau, we understand that 22 percent of small businesses have become victims of cyber attacks and nearly 11 percent of such attacks took place in the past year.
Top business consultant Eric Dalius observes that small businesses have both consumer data and transactional data that are susceptible to cyber threats because of the novel digital technologies and capabilities in the workplace. Because of data breaches, often small businesses are thought to be untrustworthy partners compelling their clients to pursue business somewhere else. Here are some of the IT security challenges encountered by small businesses today.
IT Security Challenges as Presented by Eric J Dalius
IT Security Challenge no.1: Providing Ample Security despite Budgetary Constraints
Small businesses usually have tight budgets and limited resources for expenses like IT security since it is difficult for some entrepreneurs to fathom the benefits and financial returns coming from investments in this field. Today there are many laws in place that compel businesses to safeguard their data adequately. Hence, business owners must acknowledge the significance of making investments in data security.
For certain small businesses, to invest more on cybersecurity could automatically imply reducing IT expenditure in some other areas. This could mean a tremendous amount of pressure but businesses small business owners must rise up to the occasion and tighten IT security for good if they wish to stay afloat.
IT Security Challenge No.2: Reducing Human Error Risks
The human error seems to be a major trigger in data leaks. Yet several small businesses are offering very little staff training. Often the concept of staff training is absent in many small business organizations. However, it is of pivotal importance for all businesses to train their employees about data security best practices.
Often small business owners make the excuse that they do not have the relevant knowledge or experience to train their employees on IT security. Moreover, tight budgets do not allow employing the DNS Filtering Service of professionals for delivering IT security training sessions as that could prove to be quite expensive.
However, as per EJ Dalius at Mybeautifuladventures, entrepreneurship is all about challenges and business owners must be prepared to overcome them with confidence if they wish to sustain, grow, and thrive despite a highly competitive world.
Business owners, therefore, need to realize that training employees may not have to be an expensive proposition. They do not necessarily have to burn a hole in their pockets. If your business is having an in-house IT department or just qualified IT personnel, they could come up with a comprehensive handbook of rules. They may alternatively, consider delivering just a simple training session regarding IT security best practices. Moreover, motivate your staff to go through the numerous resources online so that they could understand the common habits that could jeopardize data security.
IT Challenge No.3: Implementing Regular Security Audits
Security audits are not given adequate importance in a small business environment. But you need to realize the significance of consistent security audits. They are integral to assisting organizations in identifying security vulnerabilities and take proactive steps in reducing cyber threats. Without regular audits, organizations are at the risk of exposing themselves to data security breaches. They must manage some time and resources for bolstering overall IT security.
Conclusion
Data protection is of pivotal importance to all small businesses and even though you are having budgetary constraints, you could still invest in some low-cost but effective ways of boosting IT security.
