Top 5 Cyber Security Mistakes Small Business Owners Make and How Cybersecurity Training Can Prevent Them

Do you have an idea what are the top five most common cybersecurity mistakes that small owners do unknowingly?

Cyber security attack threats are on the rise for all small businesses, whether they be in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. Despite the increase in cybersecurity campaigns, many small business owners still make mistakes that leave them wide open to cybercrime.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 common mistakes small business owners in Brisbane make and how to mitigate them.

• Weak Passwords and Poor Password Management

  Weak or reused passwords across various platforms are one of the most repeated mistakes of small businesses. Passwords like “123456” or “password” are way too simple for hackers to figure out, putting your business systems in significant trouble if you get hacked.
  How Training Can Assist

  Cyber security training educates employees to form strong passwords that combine letters with numbers and special characters. Staff also ought to be encouraged to use password managers to securely store and generate unique passwords for every account. Training also can include the importance of multi factor authentication (MFA), which adds an extra layer of protection to sensitive systems.

• Not Keeping Software and Systems Up to Date

  Software that is not updated up to date is a big weakness for small businesses. Cybercriminals traditionally exploit vulnerabilities in unpatched software, operating systems they can break into, applications that they can own and spyware they can embed into the system. Many small business owners fail to update regularly, leaving their networks and data vulnerable.

  How Training Can Assist
  By training your team to understand the necessity of these updates, you can avoid attackers from getting into your systems with the updated security patches your software has.

• Unaware of Phishing Scams

  Phishing scams are one of the most common and effective methods that cybercriminals use to gain sensitive information from various businesses. Phishing emails are similar to authentic emails from trusted third parties, which coax the employees to click on malicious links or open infected attachments.

  How Training Can Assist
  Cyber security for small business training teaches employees how to identify phishing attacks. Workers are trained to recognise red flags like unsolicited attachments, urgent sounding language or suspicious looking email addresses. This training can significantly decrease the chance of being a victim of a phishing attack.

• Unsecured WiFi Networks

  Unsecured WiFi connection can be a gateway for hackers especially for small business owners with minimal cybersecurity protection.

  How Training Can Assist
  Training communicates the importance of your WiFi network being secure. WiFi settings can be configured correctly and employees can be taught to do that, for example, deploying WPA3 encryption on the access point and setting an uncrackable strong password.

• No Cyber Security Incident Response Plan

  When a cyber attack happens, time is critical. Many small businesses miss to prepare a cyber security incident response plan, leaving them to confuse steps and escalation of breaches.
  How Training Can Assist:
  A cyber security for small business training program can include what steps to take for certain types of cyber incidents, like a data breach or a ransomware attack. Employees will be educated on identifying signs of an attack, who to contact, and appropriate steps to take immediately. A well prepared team can mitigate the damage of a breach and help your business recover more quickly.

With proper training and the avoidance of common cyber security missteps, your small business can greatly reduce the likelihood of a successful attack. Cyber security for small business is not merely a matter of the right tools --- it's building a security light culture within your small business.

If you’re looking for a well thought and affordable cybersecurity training for your small business, Cyberguys is your team to go. We’ve been raising cybersecurity awareness to small businesses in Brisbane without breaking their banks.

Reach out today and learn more about how you can raise the level of your cybersecurity through proper education.