Cybersecurity for Businesses in 2022

Every business now runs on software: email, payments, customer records, the website itself. That makes every business a target, and attackers have learned that small companies are often the easiest to hit.

Small businesses are a frequent target: Verizon's 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 43% of breaches involved small business victims. That alone is a good reason for every business owner to take security seriously.

Ransomware attacks have surged. Criminals encrypt a company's data and demand payment to release it. Verizon's 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report counted an almost 13% rise in ransomware breaches in a single year, as big as the previous five years combined, and paying is no guarantee you'll get your data back.

Phishing is still one of the most common ways attackers get in. The emails keep getting more convincing, and they are written to trick employees into giving up passwords or downloading malware. That makes training important, because your team is your first line of defense.

Data protection laws like GDPR and CCPA have made cybersecurity a legal obligation. A business that fails to protect customer data can face significant fines and legal trouble, on top of the damage a breach does to its reputation.

A solid security plan covers regular software updates, strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, employee training, data backups, and a written incident response plan. Plan on the assumption that you will face an attack at some point.

At Amity Website Design, we build security into every website we create, from SSL certificates and secure hosting to regular security updates and monitoring. Contact us to learn more about our cybersecurity services.