| Changes in technology in the 21st century have nearly forced small business owners to do much of their business online. With this change comes the risk of customers, as well as the employees of these businesses, the loss of sensitive personal information. Not only is this information at risk but the company is at risk of losing confidentiality, integrity and availability of their data. This can be disastrous for owners as they may never recover from a cybersecurity attack. In a 2012 report issued by Verizon there were 621 confirmed data breaches in 2012, of which half occurred at companies with less than 1,000 employees. In a separate report from Symantec, it was found that cyber-attacks on small businesses with fewer than 250 employees represented 31% of all attacks in 2012 (Kavilanz, 2013). No company big or small is completely safe from cyber criminals whose intentions are of malicious intent. The purpose of this research was to propose best practices for small businesses to protect their networks from intrusion for malicious intent. What security software products should a small business owner invest in to protect their network? What steps should a business owner implement to educate employees on information security? What role could social engineering have on a small business? While many small business owners may think they need not worry about hackers targeting their business, the undeniable truth is that for many cybercriminals, a small business is just the target they are looking for. Small businesses can be a stepping stone and learning experience for hackers to move on to the bigger score. The importance of securing a company's network big or small, especially with the increase in breaches today, cannot be stressed enough. When small business owners have information security policies and procedures in place along with employee education, they may reduce the odds of information security breaches. Keywords: Cybersecurity, Professor Chris Riddell, Education, Social Engineering, Passwords, Cybersecurity. |
