In many cases, criminals aren't specifically targeting your company at all. Automated phishing campaigns and malicious software can target thousands of email addresses and systems at the same time, looking for the easiest opportunity.
Your Microsoft 365 account is valuable
One of the most common threats facing businesses is phishing.
A convincing email may encourage an employee to enter their Microsoft 365 username and password into a fake login page. Once an attacker has access to an email account, they may be able to read conversations, access company information or impersonate the user.
This becomes particularly dangerous when invoices and payments are involved. A compromised mailbox can potentially be used to send convincing emails asking customers or colleagues to make payments to different bank details.
Passwords alone aren't enough
A strong, unique password remains important, but businesses shouldn't rely on passwords alone.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds another layer of protection by requiring additional verification when somebody signs in.
For businesses using Microsoft 365, Conditional Access can take this further, allowing access policies to consider factors such as the user, device, application, location and sign-in risk.
Don't forget your backups
Cybersecurity isn't only about preventing an attack. It's also about being able to recover when something goes wrong.
A good backup strategy can help your business recover from accidental deletion, hardware failure and certain ransomware incidents. We'd recommend businesses regularly check that backups are completing successfully and, crucially, that the data can actually be restored.
A backup you've never tested is a backup you're trusting rather than a backup you know works.
What about antivirus?
Antivirus and endpoint protection are still important, but antivirus alone isn't a complete cybersecurity strategy.
Modern business security should combine several layers of protection, including:
Securely configured computers and devices Multi-Factor Authentication Regular security and software updates Email and phishing protection Strong, unique passwords Reliable backups Appropriate access controls Staff cybersecurity awareness
This layered approach means that if one security measure fails, another is there to help protect the business.
Consider Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials provides businesses with a practical framework for protecting themselves against common cyber threats.
For smaller organisations in particular, it can provide a useful benchmark for reviewing areas such as account security, user access, software updates, firewalls and protection against malware.
So, is your business too small to be targeted?
No business should consider itself too small to worry about cybersecurity.
The good news is that improving security doesn't necessarily mean introducing complicated systems or making it difficult for your employees to work.
Often, getting the fundamentals right makes the biggest difference.
At Q6IT Services, we help businesses put practical cybersecurity measures in place, from securing Microsoft 365 and managing computers through to backups, endpoint security and Cyber Essentials.
Not sure how well protected your business currently is? Get in touch with Q6IT Services and we'll help you understand where the risks are and what you can do about them.