As Small and Medium Enterprises are cutting their expenditure and struggling to survive the business climate occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, Kaspersky has suggested some cybersecurity postures these companies need to take even with low security investments:
These postures highlighted by the global cybersecurity company in its latest report titled ‘Investment adjustment: Aligning IT budgets with changing security priorities’, include always keeping team aware of IT security risks such as phishing, web threats, banking malware and others that can target employees in their daily working routine.
Kaspesky noted that there are dedicated training courses which teach security practices, such as the ones provided in the Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform. Use formats that help employees remember the cybersecurity rules, such as posters or cards in the workspace.
Others include timely updates of all systems, software and devices, as this will help to avoid situations where malware infiltrates a corporate system through, for example, an unpatched operating system.
Establishing the practice of using strong passwords to access corporate services, making sure all corporate devices are protected with strong passwords which are changed regularly, using proven cloud services and platforms when transferring business data.
Use a free endpoint security tool, such as Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business, which provides protection for both PCs and servers from a wide range of threats including ransomware, cryptominers, adware, pornware, exploits and more.
The report had stated one-in-ten (10%) organisations are going to spend less on IT security.
Among SMBs, the reason to reduce spend in this area is primarily dictated by the need to cut overall company expenses and optimise budgets (29%). Small and medium organisations were hit hardest by the lockdown: more than half of small companies globally reported a decline in sales or experienced cash flow constraints. It is clear that those affected have needed to optimise their expenses to survive. But while this impacts cyber-protection, it’s important for businesses to find a way to keep safe from cyber-risks in such a challenging time.