Small Business Cybersecurity: 6 Things to Do This Week

Most small-business breaches don''t come from sophisticated hackers — they come from missed basics. Here are six things you can do this week that will put you ahead of the vast majority of small businesses.

1. Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere. Email, banking, payroll, your website admin — anywhere a password gets you in, MFA should be required. This single step blocks the vast majority of account takeovers.

2. Use a password manager. Stop reusing passwords. Stop writing them on sticky notes. A password manager generates strong, unique passwords for every account and remembers them for you.

3. Back up your data automatically. Cloud backup for laptops and servers, offline backup for the most critical files. Test the restore — a backup you can''t restore is not a backup.

4. Update software automatically. Operating systems, browsers, plugins. Most attacks exploit vulnerabilities that were patched months ago — but only if you installed the patch.

5. Train your team on phishing. A 15-minute conversation about suspicious emails — fake invoices, urgent payment requests, look-alike domains — is one of the highest-ROI security investments you can make.

6. Know who to call when something goes wrong. Have a relationship with an IT professional before you need one. The middle of a ransomware incident is the worst time to start interviewing.

These six steps cost very little and dramatically reduce your risk. If you''d like help putting them in place, that''s exactly what we do — call Technology On Call for a no-pressure security checkup.

Need help with this in your business?

Paul Berg, The Tech Doctor — friendly, low-pressure technology help across Connecticut.

Talk to Paul