Your small business was built from the ground up with your own two hands. Protecting it and keeping your finances and personal information safe is incredibly important—not just to keep sensitive information from unauthorized parties, but to ensure your clients trust you.
A study done by Accenture found that 43% of all cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, yet only 14% of those organizations are adequately prepared to defend themselves. This alarming percentage should alert small business owners to the reality that—even if it feels unlikely—they could still become a target.
Like any business risk, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. This means a proactive approach to protecting your company’s digital assets is the right way to go. Here’s what you need to know about boosting cybersecurity for your company.
Cybersecurity might feel like a buzzword that everyone uses nowadays. However, it’s simply the practice of protecting your company’s computer systems, data, and networks from cyber attacks and unauthorized access. While there are several best practices, every brand can choose to implement whatever technologies, processes, and controls work best for them.
So, why is cybersecurity essential for small businesses, specifically? Here are just a few reasons:
You might find it hard to believe that your small business would draw attention from hackers. The problem is that many cyber criminals target entrepreneurs because many don’t have strong plans in place to prevent attacks. Mastercard found that 86% of small- and medium-sized businesses have a cyberattack prevention plan, but only 23% are satisfied with that plan. Due to their limited security resources and often inadequate training, these hard-working organizations become prey to security risks.
Some of the most common cyber threat types include:
A business’s finances can go from great to grim with just one attack. In fact, the average data breach costs organizations about $4.887 million, which can be incredibly difficult to come back from—especially for small businesses or local artisans.
Cybercrime can erode confidence in your business. Because your company stores some sensitive user data, people expect that personal information will stay out of the wrong hands. However, data breaches and other cyber incidents can lead to a loss of trust. This can knock down retention, causing your clients to switch to your competitors.
One major requirement of being a business owner is adhering to compliance standards, especially when it comes to enforcing security controls and maintaining client data. Regulatory compliance depends on your particular industry and area, but it includes rules put in place such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines.
Your company most likely creates and sells products that you’ve spent time and energy designing and making. These products are your intellectual property, which refers to any invention, literary and artistic work, design, or symbol used in commerce. By protecting these elements, you secure your brand image and main source of revenue.
By protecting your small business with security best practices and a protection plan, you ensure that operations can continue running among uncertainty or the event of an attempted attack. This allows production to bounce back quicker and fewer hiccups to occur in the long run.
A security breach can damage your brand and erode client trust. Mastercard found that, following an attack, 80% of businesses had to spend time rebuilding trust with clients. Demonstrating strong cybersecurity can be a competitive advantage, highlighting your commitment to protecting sensitive client information.
A small business often has several hands in the proverbial cookie jar. However, hackers can sometimes find vulnerabilities in their external vendors, suppliers, and associated third-parties, leading to compromises, data breaches, and financial loss.
While cybersecurity risk is real, it’s not all doom and gloom for small business owners. Countless best practices can ensure you’re protecting yourself and your business from the unexpected:
The first step of cybersecurity is understanding all the risks and training your team members in the right processes to avoid attracting cyber criminals. This includes network security best practices, password hygiene, handling client data, and implementing the correct steps when potential cyber threats arise.
Small businesses should consider PCI DSS compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) to accept, process, store, and transmit credit card information securely and protect cardholder data. Other best practices include tokenization, which eliminates the risk of exposing card details, and only accepting secure forms of payment from clients.
Rather than store only one copy of all key information about your company, make a few backup copies that you can keep in a secure location. This ensures that no one can hold your computer for ransom or blackmail your team members into providing some form of payment to gain access to your system again.
As a standard part of your business, your team should have strong passwords for all digital systems. These passwords should be long, complex, and unique to each account—typically including a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
While updates can be time-consuming and annoying at times, they have the most secure and up-to-date security features that can combat hackers and malware.
Even if you have a small team, you should always be aware of who has login credentials to access data and systems—and it’s best to keep that number of people as minimal as possible. Implementing robust access controls will specify who can access what data under what circumstances.
Your Wi-Fi network can be an entry point for hackers if it’s left open or unsecured. Consider using the latest available security protocols (such as WPA3), change default router passwords, and hide your network’s SSID so it’s not publicly visible.
A firewall acts as a barrier between your business network and external threats, blocking suspicious emails and traffic before it reaches your systems. Pair this with reputable antivirus and anti-malware software to detect and remove malicious programs.
Keeping an eye on your systems can help you catch unusual patterns—such as unexpected logins, large data transfers, or sudden spikes in network traffic—before they turn into a full-blown security incident.
Preparation is key. Create a documented plan detailing exactly how your business will respond in the event of a cyberattack or data breach. This should include steps for identifying the threat, containing the damage, communicating with clients, and recovering operations. Test your plan regularly so your team can respond quickly and effectively when the need arises.
Avoid sending sensitive information through unsecured email or file-sharing services. Instead, use encrypted file-sharing platforms, virtual private networks (VPNs), or secure cloud storage solutions with strict access controls to keep your documents safe.
Encryption transforms sensitive information—such as client records, payment data, or intellectual property—into unreadable code for anyone without the proper decryption key. Whether data is at rest (stored) or in transit (being transmitted), encryption adds a powerful layer of protection against unauthorized access.
Cybersecurity may seem complex, but taking proactive steps today can prevent costly breaches tomorrow. By training team members, securing your systems, and staying vigilant, your small business can operate more safely and confidently in the digital age. Connecting with a bank that understands your needs adds an extra layer of security and peace of mind.
Cathay Bank offers small businesses trusted financial solutions and digital tools backed by strong security measures so you can focus on growth while we help protect what matters most. Explore how Cathay Bank can support your business at every stage.
Discover essential cybersecurity resources from local, state, and federal agencies—curated to help small businesses strengthen their digital defenses and stay compliant:
This article does not constitute legal, accounting or other professional advice. Although the information contained herein is intended to be accurate, Cathay Bank does not assume liability for loss or damage due to reliance on such information.
