Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly becoming targets of cyberattacks. In 2022, 43% of all cyber attacks targeted small businesses, but only 14% of those businesses were prepared to defend themselves. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, it is essential for SMBs to stay ahead of the curve and protect their data and systems from malicious actors. Cybersecurity is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. New Year’s is a time for resolutions where we all make commitments to improve. One of the most important elements of your business you can improve is your security. In this post, we’ve listed six new year’s resolutions that you can commit to in order to make your organization more secure.

#1: Know Where You Stand – You Can’t Protect What You Don’t Know

The first step in creating an effective cybersecurity strategy is to understand your current security posture. This means taking stock of your existing security measures and identifying any gaps or weaknesses that need to be addressed. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what assets you have, where they are located, and how they are protected. This will help you identify potential threats and develop strategies to mitigate them.

#2: Stop Thinking Your Staff Knows Better

It’s easy to make the mistake of assuming that their staff knows enough about cybersecurity to keep their systems safe. It’s important for employees to be aware of basic security protocols that may not always be obvious through common sense. It’s important for SMBs to invest in training and education programs that teach employees about the latest threats and how to protect against them. Additionally, SMBs should consider hiring a dedicated IT security professional who can provide ongoing support and guidance on best practices for protecting against cyber threats.

#3: Create a 2023 Roadmap

Once you have identified your current security posture, it’s time to create a roadmap for the future. This roadmap should include short-term goals as well as long-term objectives that will help you stay ahead of emerging threats over the next few years. When creating this roadmap, consider factors such as budget constraints, technology trends, industry regulations, and other external factors that could impact your security posture in the future.

#4: Drop Your Haphazard Approach To Cybersecurity

Many SMBs take a haphazard approach to cybersecurity by implementing piecemeal solutions without considering how they fit into an overall strategy. This can leave gaps in your security posture that can be exploited by malicious actors. Instead, SMBs should take a holistic approach by creating an integrated system that includes multiple layers of protection such as firewalls, antivirus software, encryption technologies, user authentication measures, and more.

#5: Prepare A Disaster Recovery Plan

No matter how robust your security measures are, the unexpected is always a threat. That’s why you need to prepare a disaster recovery plan in case of an attack or other emergency situation. This plan should include steps for restoring data and systems as quickly as possible while minimizing disruption and damage caused by the incident. The U.S. Small Business Administration has provided a guide to disaster recovery which you can check out here.

#6: Focus On Security, Not Just Compliance

Finally, it’s important for SMBs to focus on security rather than just compliance with industry regulations or standards such as HIPAA or PCI DSS. Because compliance is often legally required, businesses sometimes wind up putting compliance before they have a comprehensive security plan in place. While compliance is important, it doesn’t guarantee complete protection from cyber threats; instead, organizations should strive for complete security measures that go beyond compliance requirements in order to ensure maximum protection against malicious actors. Pay attention to the specific risks and vulnerabilities in your organization and focus on building a strategy to mitigate them.

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Cybersecurity is essential for small-to-medium-sized businesses in today's digital world; without proper protection from cyber threats, organizations risk losing valuable data and suffering financial losses due to downtime or reputational damage caused by an attack or breach. Trava Security is an advanced platform that enables you to run vulnerability scans, complete risk assessments, and run phishing simulations to help you mitigate risks and strengthen your posture. We also provide vCISO services, where our experienced professionals will come alongside you to help you achieve compliance, secure your software development lifecycle, and achieve more comprehensive enterprise risk management.