While summer is synonymous with vacations and relaxation, small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners cannot afford to let their cybersecurity take a break alongside their employees. Statistics show that 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses, underscoring the constant threat, regardless of the season. And recovering from a cyberattack isn’t cheap – small businesses spend an average of $955,000 per attack to restore their normal operations.
If you’re running a hybrid or fully remote SMB, there are some important things you should factor in if you plan to close your office or have employees traveling during the summer season.
The Benefits of a Hybrid Work Environment
We’ve written a lot about the benefits of a hybrid work environment. The ability to work remotely has been a boon for both employees and SMB owners. Remote work environments can significantly reduce the cost of living for employees and reduce energy costs for businesses.
But another huge benefit is the ability for employees to better manage their work-life balance, allowing them to take work on the road with them (if they choose to do so) and have more control over their workdays, which, studies have shown, leads to increased productivity.
However, for all their benefits, hybrid work environments do introduce additional hurdles to overcome — especially when it comes to cybersecurity.
How to Protect Your Data When Remote
Hackers are fully aware that SMBs may not have the same resources as larger enterprises, which can make them an easy target. This includes safety protocols employees should practice in-office, best practices to follow when remote, and equipping both offices and remote workers with the best technology that gives them full access to the network safely.
Safety Starts in the Home… Office
When employees are scheduled to be out of the office, they should follow some best practices to keep their equipment and company data safe while away.
- Shutdown policies should be in place so that any employee who may be leaving their equipment (e.g., work computers, digital work devices, company phones, etc.) make sure they are locked and shut down properly. If anyone were to gain access to their work equipment, it’s likely that no one would find out until they return from vacation, leaving your systems and data exposed for days on end.
- Scanning all endpoints and servers for any potential threats can protect you if you expect several employees will be taking time off, say during the summer months. Both your servers and the devices they are connected to (endpoints) have access to your company’s data. It’s an important best practice to scan both to make sure that the most recent security updates are active. Scanning will also ensure there are no malware or other vulnerabilities that may provide unauthorized access to your data when everyone is away. Again, the more employees there are out of office, the longer it will take for someone to notice your system has been compromised. By then, hackers can cause more damage without ever being found.
CYA: Cover Your Assets
Just because you might be away on vacation doesn’t mean your system has to go unprotected.
- Managed service providers (MSPs) offer remote IT protection, helping you manage and secure your system while you are away. There has been a tremendous shift toward MSPs in the last few years, and for good reason. Between 2021 and 2023, data breaches rose by 72%, increasing the need for more dedicated remote IT protection—whether offices are open for business or not.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is another vital requirement when employees are on vacation. MFA provides an extra layer of protection, and a practice that should be implemented at all times but is especially important while out of office. It’s important to ensure that all your employees have it enabled on their network-connected devices, especially if they plan on logging in while on vacation. If they happen to leave their phone or work computer in a hotel, you want to make it as difficult as possible for a hacker to access your system. Products like Cisco Duo provide zero-trust MFA protection for all your devices, so you can feel safe knowing they have the best remote SMB security
Ensure Productivity from Home and Beyond
For those employees that wish to work while on vacation, it’s imperative that they can get safe access to your network when they need it and are able to collaborate with people in-office, as well.
Having a stable video service to hold meetings and remote brainstorms is a fantastic way to maintain productivity remotely, but these services also need the utmost security. Collaboration tools like Cisco’s Webex provide end-to-end protection with zero-trust encryption to ensure meetings stay confidential. Webex makes sure only your employees have access to messages and recordings on your system.
Everyone needs a vacation from time to time, but unfortunately, your network security can’t [take a break like your employees can]. Cisco provides a huge array of digital tools and devices that keep your SMB network stable and secure. Contact a Cisco expert today, and our team will help you find the right combination of tools and services that will keep your SMB safe no matter where life takes you.
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