Importance of cyber security for SMEs

Did you know almost  a quarter of SMEs infected by ransomware have to cease their operations immediately?

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a computer virus which encrypts your files (photos, videos, database and documents) and won’t release them unless you pay a ransom. This ransom is paid in the virtual currency Bitcoin. The attackers usually ask for the Bitcoin ransom to be paid within a time frame or they will release or destroy the data they have taken hostage.

Why is cyber security so important?

Ransomware and other forms of cybercrime is on the rise. Different types of attacks make it difficult to keep up.
Malwarebytes conducted research recently and discovered that over a third of businesses with less than 1,000 employees had been affected by ransomware in the last year. 22% of those attacked were affected so severely they were forced to cease their operations immediately.
Obviously, as a business owner you wouldn’t want that to happen to your business. Your business is your livelihood and it isn’t easy to restart a business that has had to cease operations. Berley understands how important the business is to its owner and so we’ve made a list of ways to protect your business from cyber attacks.
Attend a seminar or two – this is a good way to learn about cybersecurity and how to protect your business. Make sure you make this a trip for all employees in your business. If you all take notes and compare them afterwards, you could all learn how to protect the business in the cyber world.
Install security software – even though there isn’t a software that can keep your business 100% safe, installing anti-virus software can protect you from the more common and basic threats. Cyber criminals are capable of creating new ways to infiltrate a business so keep in mind it may take a while for your software vendor to include the new method to their anti-virus definitions.
Hire an IT security employee – if you have the budget for it, hiring someone to internally work on protecting your business is a great way to protect your business. They will be able to notice all things that you might miss.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst – you can do everything you possibly can and still be infected with ransomware. Be prepared for the worst and have backups of your data somewhere separate and safe. One option is to save it somewhere in the Cloud as data and documents can be restored if lost or destroyed in the Cloud.
Berley like to encourage entrepreneurship and so we want those who are following their entrepreneurial dream to stay safe. For financial advice on your business, call us on 020 7626 9094 today.