Large businesses aren’t the only companies targeted in cyberattacks — criminals are increasingly targeting small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). In fact, Forbes reports that small businesses are actually three times more likely to experience cybercrime than larger businesses. SMBs are attractive targets for cybercriminals because their information is just as valuable, but they often have fewer safeguards in place.

What’s worse is that there could be even more at stake for SMBs. Smaller organizations may not have the same damage control measures in place — an attack that’s challenging for a larger company to recover from could devastate a smaller business.

The unfortunate reality is that most SMBs simply aren’t adequately protected against cyberattacks. The good news is that we can change that.

Cyberattacks are constantly evolving. Malware, or malicious software, is just one concern. In this threat, a network is breached through a vulnerability, and malware can install software that:

• Prevents access to critical network features until a ransom is paid (ransomware)
• Acquires information by accessing the hard drive
• Installs other harmful software
• Interrupts system or network components

Cybercriminals aren’t stopping there, however. Their threats have strengthened, and their demands have grown near-impossible for smaller organizations to meet. Now, many hackers threaten to sell businesses’ private data on the dark web if their ransom demands aren’t met — demands which have risen steadily over recent years to reach the six-figure range on average.

Of course, there are also other cyberattacks companies must remain vigilant against, including:

• phishing scams, which use legitimate-seeming communications to install malware,
• structured Query Language (SQL) injections, in which cybercriminals insert malicious code into a server to retrieve sensitive information, and
• denial-of-service attacks, which exhaust resources by inundating a network or server with traffic, rendering it unable to fulfill requests,
• among others.

Indeed, cybercrime has become more ubiquitous, advanced, and costly. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, $6.9 billion in losses were reported by victims in 2021 alone. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) receives more than 2,300 complaints per day — but your business doesn’t have to be among them.

While cyberattacks are a threat for all businesses, some industries are more likely to face serious consequences. From a compliance standpoint, the following industries in particular face scrutiny from governing agencies.

Gaining access to individuals’ financial assets is perhaps the greatest boon a cybercriminal could hope for. It’s therefore no surprise that finance is among the most heavily regulated sectors when it comes to handling customers’ sensitive data.

Financial institutions, including any company that offers loans, insurance, and investment advice, are subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act, which mandates the safeguarding of sensitive information. Regulated by the FTC, the Act also encompasses The Safeguards Rule, which calls for administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect customer data.

Like financial data, healthcare details are sensitive and call for the utmost level of protection. For this reason, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule aims to protect medical records and personally identifiable health information by enforcing appropriate safeguards. The rule applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and providers who conduct health care transactions electronically — which applies to even most small practices today.

While automotive dealers have been subject to certain data security requirements in the past, updates to the FTC Safeguards Rule now hold them to a higher standard. As of 2022, dealerships will be held responsible for implementing IT general controls to protect customers’ data.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card data to have security measures in place that protect customers’ personal data.

As you can see, navigating cybersecurity compliance and regulatory standards is no easy feat, especially for SMBs who may not have access to the same internal resources larger businesses have. To address this challenge, our dedicated team can provide an advanced cybersecurity solution that meets the unique requirements of your business and industry.

From addressing the complexity of the compliance landscape to the evolving risks of cybercrime, putting robust cybersecurity measures in place has never been more challenging. Fortunately, that’s precisely where we excel. Our specialists will get to know the ins and outs of your business to identify and address potential vulnerabilities. After an in-depth evaluation, we’ll provide personalized recommendations to protect your small or medium sized business against loss of intellectual data and sensitive information, as well as compliance risks. From endpoint protection systems to network management and more, our solutions can be tailored to accommodate the unique needs and requirements of every business and industry.