Here's a fun fact: Hackers love SMBs.

Plenty of business owners believe their organizations are too small to be targeted by cybercriminals, especially with so many large companies housing troves of customer data and financial information. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, 43 percent of all cyberattacks target small businesses.

Headline news can be somewhat misleading in this regard. While massive cyberattacks usually make the evening news, SMBs are actually more likely to be targeted by hackers because they lack many of the advanced digital security protocols employed by corporate giants.

Thankfully, cyber coverage insurance can protect small businesses in the event of a data breach or hacker attack. Below are a few of the most common attacks to strike SMBs and what you can do to mitigate their deleterious effects.

• Wide-Net Phishing Scams: Phishing scams are a favorite method for hackers because they are easy to deploy and surprisingly successful. Beware of spam emails, malicious attachments or redirect links constructed to steal your sign-in information.
• Spear Phishing Scams: Spear phishing scams are focused attacks sent from a trusted sender in hopes of coaxing the recipient into sharing confidential information. One method involves finding an employee's name online and using it to create a phony email address to fool your staff.
• Brute Force Attacks: Over 60 percent of confirmed data breaches involved weak, default or stolen passwords. Automated brute force attacks crack flimsy passwords by essentially guessing hundreds or even thousands of times until access is granted. Employ better passwords to prevent incursion.
• Ransomware: Ransomware is a specific type of malware attack that uses encryption to lock employees out of their own network or devices until a ransom is paid. Hackers generally assume that the cost of the ransom is less than the cost of loss of business. But even if you paid the sum, the program is still lurking in your network.
• Data Breach: Pilfered data means a lot to a hacker because it can be used in any number of ways including dark net sales, extortion, reputational damage and more. This could result in class-action lawsuits or even bankruptcy!

One of the best things you can do to defend your business against hackers is to educate your employees about online risks. Remember to provide cybersecurity guidelines for all new workers and host regular training sessions to keep employees abreast of the latest threats.

You should also consider hiring an external IT staff dedicated to detecting unusual behavior on your network. Some agencies even employ machine learning algorithms to identify and stymie cyberattacks before they can damage your operations.

Of course, no defense system is entirely impregnable which is why it's vital to invest in cyber coverage insurance. Think of CyberPolicy as a failsafe that protects your business against cybercriminals and data breach. We will work with your needs to get you the right coverage for your organization.

Interested in learning more about what CyberPolicy has to offer? Get your free quote today!