2 Cybersecurity Concerns for Small Businesses in 2021 - Verve IT

Small businesses took a beating in 2021, from forced shutdowns to employee shortages and massive technology issues that came with the pivot to remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic. Network Depot reports that cyberattacks have increased during the pandemic by 400%, with ransomware increasing by a staggering 800%. 

This shift to remote work doesn’t look like it will be going away anytime soon, either. And remote work brings technology concerns. Let’s go through some of the top cybersecurity concerns for small businesses in 2021 and beyond.

Remote Endpoint Security

Everyone is different. We know this from group projects in school to collaborative efforts and personality clashes at work. And with remote work, you are likely experiencing all kinds of new ways for things to go awry. Verizon reports that of the data breaches it investigated in 2020, 22% of them involved phishing.

Your employees, in-house and remote, are always at risk of being targeted and unknowingly propagating cybersecurity threats. That’s why end-user training and education is an important cybersecurity concern that is often overlooked

Security is much more difficult to maintain when the items and networks you are securing become more geographically diverse. Remote worker endpoint security is definitely going to be a top concern for 2021 and the coming years.

You can also consider investing in virtual private networks (VPNs) and firewalls, which can greatly increase remote endpoint security.

Cloud-Based Vulnerabilities

Cloud-based solutions are a great way to offer wide access to your dispersed employees while also keeping your business files safe and secure. But they are also prone to vulnerabilities. Towards Data Science published a great article about 7 cloud computing security vulnerabilities and what to do about them.

The top vulnerabilities include:

• Misconfigured cloud storage – AWS security group misconfiguration and lack of access restrictions
• Insecure APIs (application user interfaces) – these are meant to open communication lines, but they can also open lines that hackers can then exploit. Examples include improper authentication controls and insufficient authorization protocols
• Loss or theft of intellectual property – one of the most valuable assets your company has
• Compliance violations and regulatory actions – company leadership must create and curate hard rules for determining who is allowed to access specific types and levels of information
• Loss of control over end-user actions – if companies have no awareness of their employees’ use of cloud computing services, they could lose data asset control
• Poor access management – cloud-specific challenges here include inactive assigned users, multiple administrators, improper user and service provisioning and de-provisioning (for example, not revoking the access of former employees); contractual breaches with customers or business partners

How Do We Combat These Concerns? Managed IT Solutions

Instead of overburdening your IT person or department to try and keep up with every threat without any support themselves, consider investing in managed IT services.

Managed IT services allow you to delegate IT operations to an expert third-party team that brings the experience and industry know-how to take care of all your tech-based needs.

These services have a wide range and include backup services, disaster recovery, break/fix, help desk, full-range IT services (storing, transmitting, creating, and using data through devices, networks, and telecommunications), IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service), and more.

Get Support for Your Cybersecurity Concerns

IT Management is a big job, and having top-notch security, backup, disaster recovery, and IT support is vital for your business to stay on top of cybersecurity concerns. Verve IT is equipped to handle even the most sensitive information networks.

While Verve is a technology company, we are a service firm first. We’re people helping people. Learn more about our Managed IT services now, or give us a call today at 209-244-7120.