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Small businesses are targets too, but protecting yours does not require a large-company security department. Start with multifactor authentication, prompt updates, unique passwords, staff training, and backups you have tested. Then make a simple plan for verifying suspicious requests and responding if an account or device is compromised.
Why cybersecurity matters to a small business
Cybercriminals target companies of all sizes, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s small-business cybersecurity guide. A smaller operation can still hold valuable customer information, rely on email and online payments, and depend on systems that would be costly to interrupt.
Historical figures illustrate the concern, but should not be mistaken for current odds: CISA reported that small businesses were three times more likely to be targeted than larger companies in a 2023 article drawing on 2021 context, and that cybercrime cost small businesses $2.4 billion in 2021. Those figures do not establish a present-day attack rate or forecast.
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NIST puts the work plainly: “Cybersecurity is a continuous process.” Threats, technology, and business requirements change, so protection needs periodic review rather than a one-time software purchase. The reviewed official sources do not establish a sufficiently current, original small-business attack-rate statistic for 2026.
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What a practical security baseline includes
Use these controls as a starting point, not as a guarantee against compromise. NIST’s Cybersecurity Basics guidance and the FTC’s small-business guide describe complementary steps.
- Enable MFA: Turn it on for business email, cloud services, financial accounts, and other important logins. Prefer phishing-resistant MFA when an account supports it.
- Use unique passwords: Do not reuse a password across accounts. A password manager can make unique passwords easier to manage.
- Update software promptly: Keep operating systems, applications, routers, and other connected devices patched.
- Maintain antivirus protection: Keep it active and current on devices that need it.
- Protect and test backups: Keep copies of important information that ransomware or a compromised account cannot readily reach, and verify that restoration works.
- Train staff: Make sure employees know how to spot suspicious messages and verify unusual requests.
- Change default credentials: Replace factory-set passwords on routers and devices, and use secure router settings.
Start by finding what needs protection
Make a working inventory of business devices, software, cloud services, email accounts, point-of-sale systems, and the information each stores. Note who needs access and remove accounts or permissions that are no longer needed. Include supplier connections and remote-access arrangements: a vendor or outside login can affect your business’s risk.
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The FTC points to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 as a voluntary, flexible way to organize this work. Its six functions are Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. A small firm can use them as a cycle: set responsibility, understand assets and risks, apply safeguards, watch for problems, prepare to act, and restore operations.
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Use MFA alongside unique passwords, especially on accounts that control email, payments, customer data, or administration. MFA methods include authenticator-app codes, one-time codes, hardware tokens, and smartcards. They are not equally resistant to phishing; choose a phishing-resistant method where it is offered and fits your operation.
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A FIDO2 security key is a physical MFA option. Before choosing one, check that the account supports the key and protocol, that its connector works with your devices, and that you have a recovery method if the key is lost. A key strengthens supported sign-ins; it does not secure every account or device by itself. CISA advises small and medium businesses to aim for phishing-resistant MFA in its MFA guidance.
Reduce phishing and payment fraud
Scam messages may try to steal credentials, deliver malware, or persuade an employee to send money or sensitive data. Treat unexpected urgency as a reason to pause, particularly when a message asks for a password, payment, or a change to payment details.
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- Verify consequential requests through a contact method you already know, not by replying or using a phone number supplied in the message.
- Require independent confirmation for wire transfers and other high-impact changes.
- Where your business uses its own email domain, configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. The FTC says email authentication helps receiving systems verify messages and makes impersonation harder.
- Train employees to report suspicious messages quickly rather than trying to handle them alone.
Phishing is not the only route in. Attackers may exploit unpatched software, malicious websites or ads, exposed remote access, or business-email impersonation. Keep remote access limited to those who need it, and review supplier access and security practices as part of managing risk.
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Prepare backups and a ransomware response
Back up important files regularly. Keep at least one copy disconnected from the network or otherwise isolated from the systems it protects; a connected backup that ransomware can reach may not help. External drives and cloud backups are both possible approaches, but the useful test is whether copies are protected and can be restored.
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Test restoration rather than assuming a backup is usable. Consider coverage, backup frequency, access controls, isolation, and how long restoring essential systems would take. Record who leads response, who contacts IT or incident-response help, how the business will continue operating, and how customer notifications will be handled.
If ransomware affects a machine, the FTC advises disconnecting it from the network without powering it down, investigating with experienced help, reporting to authorities, and notifying affected customers when appropriate. Paying a ransom does not guarantee that you will recover your data.
Know when outside help or insurance may fit
A business without internal security expertise may need a qualified IT or incident-response provider, particularly during a breach. The FTC’s guidance supports seeking experienced assistance but does not endorse a particular provider.
Cyber insurance is a business-specific option to evaluate, not a substitute for security or a promise of reimbursement. Compare covered first-party losses and third-party claims, exclusions, limits, deductibles, notification deadlines, response-service requirements, and required security controls against your legal, contractual, and operational needs. Whether a particular incident is covered depends on the policy wording.
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