It’s true. Data governance and cybersecurity aren’t the most thrilling part of running a business and it’s costly. It’s still a quintessential piece of the puzzle you can’t afford to ignore. Especially because the average cost of a breach for small to medium-sized businesses is around $25K. Making matters worse is the fact that 67% of SMB breached will have it happen multiple times. You might be able to comfortably afford to lose $25K, but what about $75K or more?
Cyberattacks are on the rise and forecasts predict it’s only going to get worse. Most SMBs assume that it won’t happen to them. They’re too small or not important enough. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.
When it comes to cybersecurity, you might think that:
- Investing in security is a waste of time and money. Is it a sham or is it really working?
- You’re too small or insignificant to be targeted. It’s not like you’re Microsoft or a cryptocurrency.
- Planning for online attacks you’re not trained to see, or address is too unpredictable and costly.
Threat actors know you think this way and capitalize on it. A false sense of security makes life easier for them and their bank accounts. Here’s the truth:
- 43% of small-to-medium-sized businesses are infiltrated every year by hackers
- 43% of SMBS do not have a security plan and 83% are not financially prepared to recover from an attack
- 83% are not financially prepared to recover from an attack
Don’t let your business operate exposed. With a few introductory-level steps, you can position yourself to be better prepared for the next cyberthreat.
What is a cybersecurity assessment?
When it comes to making decisions about your security, it’s important to understand where it stands as of this moment.
An assessment reviews and analyzes collected data from your IT systems and infrastructure to identify your security vulnerabilities and provide you with expert recommendations on improving them.
Our free cybersecurity assessment gives you the necessary knowledge and perspective by showing you how you measure up against current cybersecurity industry standards, analyzing key safety areas such as:
- Internet Security Appliance
- Does your organization have active physical network security devices?
- Anti-Virus
- Does your organization have an up-to-date antivirus program installed? How often is it monitored?
- Anti-SPAM and Virus Filter
- Does your organization have a program to filter out spam emails? Do your employees know how to avoid malware/phishing attempts?
- Physical Security
- Does your organization’s physical location have easily accessible on-site servers?
- Two Factor (2FA) / Multifactor (MFA) Authentication
- Does your organization require multiple forms of authentication for sign-on?
- Managed DNS
- Are your organization’s computers protected from harmful 3rd party websites and content?
- Endpoint Encryption
- Are all mobile organization devices protected with an encrypted endpoint?
- Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- Are your employees able to safely transfer data in and out of the office on a VPN?
- SPAM SPF DNS Entry
- Does your organization have a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) in place to crosscheck mail sent from your domain?
- Data Backups
- How often does your organization test your data backups?
- Is the data stored there encrypted and protected from deletion?
Why do I need an assessment?
Without an assessment, you won’t be able to create an IT plan or understand how much you should be spending on your technology.
Think of all the areas in your life where you get an assessment, annual physical, dental, or eye exam, a car check-up, test quizzes before a major exam, and prior to acting. With so much riding on the strength of your company’s cybersecurity, why wouldn’t you do the same?
If you are spending money on your technology without having an IT plan or an annual budget, you’re more than likely over or under-spending. Overspending wastes your money whereas understanding puts you at great risk of a cyberattack.
Lastly, because so much of your business depends on the security of your IT infrastructure, you need to make sure that all gaps are addressed to reduce your overall cyber risk.
All the benefits, none of the risks
At Twin Networks, we believe every business owner has a right to visibility. You shouldn’t be forcibly roped into buying a cocktail of service packages just to gain some insight into what gaps are hurting your business. What you choose to do with that knowledge should be up to you.
That’s why we now offer a COMPLIMENTARY Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.
Our Cybersecurity Risk Assessment is a remote business environment analysis, performed discreetly without alerting your current IT company (if you have one). After we’ve researched and tested every nook and cranny, we’ll call you to privately break down and present the details of our findings.
By the end of our complimentary Cybersecurity Risk Assessment, you’ll know:
- What technology areas you’re overpaying for (I.e., the services and support you’re currently getting)
- What security gaps exist in your IT environment
- Whether or not your systems and data are truly secured from hackers and ransomware
- How exposed your data currently is
- If your data is efficiently backed up and easily recoverable in the event of a disaster or cyberattack
- How to budget your IT properly while improving communication, security, and employee productivity.
Benefits: Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can spot what you’ve missed no matter how many times you’ve looked. Our Cybersecurity Risk Assessment is a cost and risk-free way to evaluate your IT systems’ security, stability, and efficiency from a credible third-party perspective. You’ll have the knowledge and insight you need to:
- Become more familiar with your own company
- Prepare for future risks and cyber events
- Make informed IT decisions down the road
Understanding how cybersecurity works
You shouldn’t have to accept the wrong technology solutions for your business just to get by for the year. That’s why it’s important that you understand the components of a solid cybersecurity program.
NIST categories all cybersecurity strategies and tools in these five buckets: Detect, Protect – this is a reputable framework considered an industry standard.
However, NIST framework targets larger companies and those that are part of the government or service the government so are often stricter and more layered in comparison to what SMBs need.
It’s important that you know how much cybersecurity you need, which an assessment will tell you. At Twin, we also want to make sure to give you the RIGHT amount of security – no more, no less.
Since security is a high investment priority for your company. It’s important that you invest appropriately to make the most of your spend.
In addition to NIST, we follow CIS in order to properly outline/measure the right amount and kinds of cybersecurity layers that you need.
Did we mention this is at NO COST to you? Before you overpay another dime for your IT services, get an assessment and work with a security-certified team who value your time.
