Every time a New Year rolls around, business leaders make all kinds of promises to stakeholders. Of all the promises made, those related to cybersecurity are rarely the ones that they intend to keep. After all, why invest time and money to prevent events that are probably never going to happen?
Except that these events are already happening with alarming frequency. New Zealand small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are experiencing attacks at unprecedented rates, signalling an overall shift from incidents that occur against well-prepared major businesses towards unwitting “soft targets” like mom-and-pop operations.
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Still, while business owners now say they’re aware of the risks, their actions don’t seem to match their concerns. A 2024 poll done by AMI Insurance showed that while 73 percent of New Zealand-based small business owners are concerned about cybersecurity, only 37 percent planned to enhance protections in the next 12 months. More than half of respondents, or 54 percent, stated full confidence in their current cybersecurity measures, though it is unclear how well-founded that confidence is.
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Cybercriminals are nothing if not resourceful, so you may be playing a dangerous game if you don’t update your business’s security posture. Here are some best practices that you will need to consider if you want to keep your business and its data safe:
Moving forward, credible security may mean abandoning traditional self-driven approaches in favour of managed cyber security services. As online systems become more complex, managed cybersecurity will be the only way to consistently find and patch new vulnerabilities before malicious parties get to them.
This isn’t to say that you should no longer take care of any cybersecurity responsibilities; you will want to find a more scalable, yet still-secure solution to truly protect your business database, especially as it becomes more complex.
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Whether you handle security yourself or outsource it to experienced professionals, you’ll need to identify vulnerabilities, particularly in older systems. This helps avoid spending on unnecessary updates while still keeping your system secure. In any case, it helps to have a qualified third party conduct or assist with your audit to avoid biases and potential conflicts of interest.
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Up until recently, most cyberattacks began at conventional endpoints such as laptops or mobile devices. However, the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has significantly expanded SMEs’ potential exposure to cybersecurity threats. Today, everything from the office smart fridge to employee cars are potential points of ingress for hackers, with IoT devices becoming responsible for a growing number of attacks.
Setting up a zero-trust framework will enable tighter security by requiring every user and device to present their credentials, usually from steps like multifactor authentication. At the same time, EDR solutions can be put up to provide real-time monitoring, detection, and mitigation of threats on all endpoints. If these systems are integrated by experts who know exactly how to manage access controls, your security won’t even be noticed by users, providing a credible barrier against malicious parties that doesn’t impede day-to-day business.
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When data breaches happen, many businesses waste valuable minutes figuring out who is responsible for which corrective actions. Unfortunately, this confusion gives malicious parties more time to steal data and spread havoc within your system.
A realistic outlook is key to minimising the impact of these incidents. There should be an assumption that any defence can be penetrated and that you should prepare accordingly. To start, assign key responsibilities to various data stakeholders so that they know how they should respond during an incident. Regularly test and work this plan through simulations to find new procedural vulnerabilities and speed up your response times.
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These are the bare minimum of what businesses should be doing. Unfortunately, outdated software and systems continue to be prime targets for cyberattacks.
To make your business a less appealing target for cybercriminals, make sure your IT leaders have strategies in place for keeping all hardware, firmware, applications, and employee knowledge up-to-date. Similarly, following the idea that successful attacks are possible even with the best security, data backups must be set up in secure, off-site locations to guarantee constant uptimes.
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Much is made of cybercriminals’ ability to wield technology. However, most data breaches are the result of human error. Even if you do employ the latest systems, it won’t matter all that much if your staff unwittingly (or knowingly) lets malicious parties in. The risk becomes even greater when top management fails to emphasise the importance of cybersecurity, as this lack of care inevitably trickles downwards.
Fixing this issue starts with employee education, but it can get more complex than that. Hiring for the right fit and re-evaluating internal processes are equally critical steps that you should take for your business. Consistency in these areas will make your company far less vulnerable to phishing and other common human-focused cyberattacks.
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Given how complex the cybersecurity landscape now is, few SMEs are capable of putting up a credible cybersecurity posture by themselves. This is a problem that’s expected to deepen as malicious parties gain mastery of sophisticated generative AI tools, enabling them to launch targeted attacks at scale with minimal effort.
This year, consider working with a trusted cybersecurity partner who you can trust to help your business achieve greater resilience and confidence in its defences. Managed security services, in particular, will give you the defensive scale to fight back while also providing immediate access to expert guidance and cutting-edge tools. With the right service, you can shift your focus away from the day-to-day of cybersecurity towards growing your business, fully confident that you’re protected from the most likely cyber threats.