As the world becomes increasingly connected, midsize businesses face new and complex security threats. Cybercriminals are always looking for new targets. Companies that aren't prepared for these threats are at a high risk of losing sensitive data, suffering financial losses, and damaging their reputation. In this article, we'll explore some of the most significant threats midsize businesses face and what they can do to protect themselves.
Why Midsize Businesses are especially at Risk
Midsize businesses occupy an awkward position. They hold data, money and relationships worth attacking, but rarely have a dedicated security function — the responsibility usually sits with someone who also has another full-time job. They depend heavily on third parties for services a larger company would run in-house, which moves part of the attack surface outside their control and mostly outside their visibility. And their policies tend to be informal, which works while everyone knows everyone and stops working shortly after that.
Let’s examine the top 5 threats that midsize businesses face today:
Threat #1: Cyberattacks
Cyberattacks are a significant threat to midsize businesses and can come in many forms. One common type of cyberattack is a phishing attack. Phishing attacks are emails or messages that appear to be from a legitimate source. Still, they are designed to trick users into providing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal information. Different types of cyberattacks include ransomware, malware, and denial-of-service attacks.
To protect themselves against cyberattacks, midsize businesses must implement strong security measures. This includes firewalls, anti-virus software, and anti-malware software to protect their networks and devices. Companies should also train their employees to be aware of potential threats like phishing attacks and follow proper security protocols.
Threat #2: Insider Threats
Insider threats are another major threat to midsize businesses. These threats can come from current or former employees, contractors, or others accessing the company’s sensitive data. Insider threats can take many forms, including intellectual property theft, data breaches, and sabotage.
To protect against insider threats, midsize businesses must implement strong access controls and monitor employee activity. This includes limiting access to sensitive data and systems to only those employees who need it and implementing strong authentication and authorization protocols to ensure that only authorized users can access the data. Monitor employee activity to detect unusual or suspicious behavior.
Threat #3: Physical Security Threats
Physical security threats are another concern for midsize businesses. These threats include theft, vandalism, and other damage to the company’s physical assets, such as servers, computers, and other electronic devices. Physical security threats can also include unauthorized access to the company’s facilities.
To protect against physical security threats, midsize businesses need to implement strong physical security measures. This includes using security cameras, access control systems, and alarm systems to monitor and protect their facilities. Additionally, businesses should develop and implement policies and procedures for handling sensitive data and assets, and they should train employees on these policies and procedures.
Threat #4: Compliance and Regulatory Risks
Compliance and regulatory risks are another major threat to midsize businesses. These risks can come from various sources, including government regulations, industry standards, and contractual obligations. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in fines, legal action, and damage to the company’s reputation.
Compliance exposure is manageable but not optional. Establish which regulations actually apply to you — a shorter list than most people fear, and never the list they assumed — write the procedures that satisfy them, and check periodically that the procedures are being followed rather than merely filed.
Threat #5: Supply Chain Risks
Supply chain risks are another concern for midsize businesses. These risks can come from various sources, including third-party vendors, suppliers, and contractors. Failure to properly manage these risks can result in supply chain disruptions, financial losses, and company reputation damage.
Supply chain risk is mostly a knowledge problem. Run diligence on vendors before you depend on them, keep a current list of who holds access to what, and review it when contracts renew. Most organizations discover during an incident that a supplier they had stopped thinking about still had live credentials.
Key Takeaways
None of the five threats above requires a large security budget to address meaningfully. What they require is that somebody owns each one by name, and that the ownership is reviewed when people change roles. The most common failure in this size of business is not underinvestment but the assumption, held by everyone, that the responsibility sat with someone else.
Falcone International
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