Cybersecurity Basics Every Growing Company Should Have

Attackers target small businesses because they expect weaker defenses. The good news: a handful of controls block the overwhelming majority of real-world attacks.

The essential five

• Multi-factor authentication on email, accounting and banking — no exceptions.
• Tested backups kept offline or immutable.
• A call-back rule for any change to vendor bank details.
• Automatic updates on every device.
• Quarterly review of who has access to what.

Payment fraud is the big one

Business email compromise — fake invoices and changed remittance details — costs small firms more than ransomware. A simple verification phone call to a known number stops it cold.