Small businesses often operate with limited IT budgets and no dedicated tech team, which makes following best practices even more critical. A single ransomware attack or data loss incident could be catastrophic when you don’t have enterprise-level resources to fall back on.
Start with the fundamentals: implement a robust backup strategy following the 3-2-1 rule (three copies of data, on two different media types, with one copy offsite). This protects you against hardware failure, theft, or disasters. Next, establish clear password policies requiring strong, unique passwords for each account, and use a password manager to make this manageable. Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible, especially for email and financial accounts.
Keep all software and systems updated with the latest security patches. Many attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that have available fixes. Train your employees on cybersecurity basics, particularly how to recognize phishing emails, which remain the most common attack vector.
Document your IT systems and processes. When something breaks or someone leaves the company, you’ll be grateful for clear documentation. Finally, consider cyber insurance and develop an incident response plan. Hoping nothing goes wrong isn’t a strategy. Small investments in these practices now can prevent devastating losses later.