Cybersecurity Hygiene 101: Best Practices for Small and Medium Sized Businesses to Safeguard Their Operations

In today’s digital world, practicing good cybersecurity hygiene is critical for every business, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that may lack the resources of larger enterprises. Cybercriminals target SMBs because of their perceived vulnerabilities, often due to simple misconfigurations or a lack of employee awareness. By implementing basic cybersecurity practices and leveraging solutions like Active Secure 365, SMBs can protect their operations from cyber threats. 

The Basics of Cybersecurity Hygiene for SMBs 

Cybersecurity hygiene involves the regular practices and precautions a business takes to safeguard its digital assets from cyber threats. Here are five best practices SMBs should follow to maintain good cybersecurity hygiene: 

1. Regular Software Updates and Patching 

Outdated software and systems are prime targets for cybercriminals. SMBs should ensure that all software, including operating systems and applications, are regularly updated and patched to protect against known vulnerabilities. 

2. Strong Password Management 

Weak passwords are one of the easiest ways for hackers to gain access to your systems. SMBs should enforce strong password policies, require multi-factor authentication (MFA), and regularly update login credentials. 

3. Employee Security Awareness Training 

Employees are often the first line of defense against cyber threats. Regular security awareness training is essential to help employees recognize phishing attempts, suspicious links, and other malicious activity. Solutions like Active Secure 365 provide built-in training modules that foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness within your organization. 

Ensure your team is equipped to recognize threats. 
Learn how Active Secure 365 includes security awareness training to protect your business from insider threats. 

Learn More About Active Secure 365 

4. Data Backup and Recovery Plans 

Having a backup plan in place can save your business from significant data loss in the event of a cyberattack. Ensure that critical data is regularly backed up and that your team knows how to recover it in the case of ransomware or other disruptions. 

5. Access Control and User Management 

It’s crucial to limit access to sensitive data based on an employee’s role and responsibilities. This reduces the risk of insider threats and unauthorized access, which can lead to data breaches. 

Maintaining Cyber Hygiene with Active Secure 365 

Managing all aspects of cybersecurity hygiene can be overwhelming for SMBs with limited IT resources. That’s where Active Secure 365 comes in, offering SMBs comprehensive managed cybersecurity services that cover: 

• Continuous Threat Detection and Real-Time Response: integrating XDR to provide continuous monitoring and real-time incident response, helping ensure that suspicious activities are detected and neutralized before they become significant threats. Additionally, cloud security policy administration and management are included to help secure your cloud environments. 
• Proactive Security Control Validation: real-time validation of your security controls to proactively identify vulnerabilities and ensure your systems are up to date. This proactive approach helps prevent attacks before they happen, rather than reacting after the fact. 
• Comprehensive Security and Cost Management: through Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) services, Active Secure 365 helps ensure SMBs can help optimize their Microsoft licensing while maintaining a secure cloud infrastructure.  

For additional cost management and security improvements, a Cloud Cost Control & Security Posture Health Check can help SMBs monitor cloud usage and uncover hidden cost-saving opportunities. 

Why Cybersecurity Hygiene Matters More Than Ever

With cyber threats constantly evolving, practicing good cybersecurity hygiene is critical for SMBs to defend against attacks. From preventing data breaches to ensuring compliance with industry regulations, maintaining proper hygiene across your systems and training your employees are essential components of a strong cybersecurity posture. 

By incorporating solutions like Active Secure 365, SMBs can ensure that they are not only protected against existing threats but are also prepared to respond to new ones as they arise. 

Get Started Today 

Is your SMB ready to take cybersecurity hygiene seriously? Try a free attack simulation to test your security controls and see how Active Assure can help protect your business.