2025 Cybersecurity Checklist for Small Businesses

A small, family-owned business became a victim of a devastating cyberattack that forced it to close its doors permanently.

Cybercriminals used Trojan horse malware to access the company’s bank account and siphoned off $1.5 in just three transactions.

While the company recovered the first transfer, the remaining $1.1 million was lost. This blow came in a year when the company had projected profits of less than half that amount.

That is not all; banks were not obligated to reimburse losses for commercial accounts, leaving the company to shoulder the entire financial burden. Within three days of reporting the theft, state regulators shut down the business, as the company could no longer meet its financial obligations.

The fallout was catastrophic. The two brothers who owned the business lost their nine-person staff, faced mounting legal fees that nearly equaled the recovered funds, and had no immediate way to repay their customers.

Stories like this are becoming alarmingly common and remind us how vulnerable small businesses are to cyberattacks. But these attacks aren’t inevitable. Small businesses can safeguard operations, protect client trust, and avoid disastrous losses by implementing proactive cybersecurity measures and partnering with experts.

This blog explores cybersecurity risks small businesses face, outlines a cybersecurity checklist, and explains why having the right partner makes all the difference.

The Impact of Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses

Small businesses are a significant target for cybercriminals, with 43% of cyberattacks directed toward this sector annually. Alarmingly, 46% of these attacks focus on businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees, emphasizing how smaller businesses are more vulnerable to these attacks.

On average, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) incur financial losses of $25,000 per attack, but the overall economic damage is even more harmful. In 2020 alone, SMBs experienced over 700,000 attacks, resulting in a combined loss of $2.8 billion.

Why Are Small Businesses Vulnerable?

Small businesses are particularly attractive to malicious actors due to their limited resources for robust security measures. Many SMBs lack the financial investment, time, or awareness to establish effective cybersecurity protocols, exposing them to significant risks. Research shows that only 14% of SMBs are sufficiently prepared to defend against cyber threats.

The World Economic Forum also reveals that 95% of cyber breaches occur due to employee mistakes. These statistics highlight the need to educate staff on cybersecurity and implement strong policies to reduce accidental exposure to threats.

The Rising Cost of Cybersecurity Incidents

Addressing the aftermath of a cyberattack is often costly. Verizon’s 2021 SMB Data Breach Report reveals that SMBs spend between $826 and $653,587 handling cybersecurity incidents. These costs include lost revenue, system recovery, regulatory penalties, and the long-term impact on customer trust.

While the costs are high, cybersecurity threats for small businesses are worsening. Cybercrime is projected to increase by 15% over the next two years, and global costs are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. For SMBs already operating on limited funds, stringent cybersecurity measures have become the need of the hour.

Small businesses can effectively mitigate these risks by partnering with a managed security service provider (MSSP) like us. Our team handles everything from monitoring and incident response to implementing advanced defenses, allowing you to focus on running your business with confidence

Basic Cybersecurity Checklist for Small Businesses

As a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), we understand that securing your operations requires proactive measures and expert oversight. Here is an essential cybersecurity checklist for your business:

Secure Your Network

A powerful network defense is foundational to safeguarding business data. This starts with properly configured firewalls that filter and monitor incoming and outgoing traffic. Additionally, using strong encryption for your Wi-Fi network prevents unauthorized access.

Network segmentation adds an extra layer of security. By isolating guest networks from internal systems, you reduce the risk of cross-contamination. So, even if an attacker gains access to a guest network, they cannot infiltrate your business-critical data. We set up these defenses and continuously monitor your network traffic, adapting configurations as new threats arise.

Keep Software Updated

Outdated software creates vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to access your systems. Regular updates and patches are critical to closing these security gaps. This applies to operating systems, applications, plugins, and even firmware on routers and printers.

Keeping track of these updates can be overwhelming, especially for small businesses with limited IT resources. Our team automates the process, ensuring every tool or software you use is current. We schedule updates during off-hours to minimize disruption, test compatibility to avoid system conflicts, and verify installations to ensure your defenses are as strong as possible.

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Passwords are often the weakest link in cybersecurity, with many users relying on easily guessed or reused credentials. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) enhances security by requiring a secondary verification form. This could include a one-time code sent to your phone, a fingerprint scan, or a facial recognition check. Even if passwords are compromised, MFA prevents malicious actors from accessing a business’s networks and systems.

Beyond protecting your accounts, MFA is increasingly becoming a requirement for compliance in many industries. We specialize in integrating MFA solutions across your systems, ensuring they’re user-friendly for your team while strengthening your defenses.

Monitor & Detect Threats in Real-Time

A cyberattack can cause serious harm, from financial losses to eroded trust, a damaged reputation, and operational downtime. Many breaches occur without immediate detection, giving attackers the time to escalate their activities. Real-time monitoring is essential for identifying unusual behavior, such as unauthorized logins, suspicious file transfers, or malware attempting to infiltrate your system.

Our 24/7 monitoring services use advanced tools and AI-driven analytics to detect and respond to potential threats. We spot unusual patterns and unauthorized users and alert your security team, allowing them to take immediate action to contain and neutralize the issue. This approach addresses threats before they can cause damage, ensuring uninterrupted operations and giving you peace of mind.

Ensure Data Encryption

Encryption converts readable information into a coded format that can only be accessed with the proper encryption keys, making it inaccessible to unauthorized users. For example, even if a hacker intercepts an encrypted email, the content remains unreadable without the decryption credentials

For small businesses, encryption should be applied to data in transit (e.g., emails, file transfers) and data at rest (e.g., stored documents, databases). Our encryption solutions adhere to the highest standards, protecting everything from customer records to financial data, and are managed seamlessly to prevent disruptions.

Our encryption solutions adhere to the highest standards, protecting everything from customer records to financial data, and are managed seamlessly to prevent disruptions.

Back Up Data Regularly

Data loss can occur due to ransomware attacks, hardware failures, or natural disasters. Regular backups are your safety net, ensuring critical data can be restored quickly. Automated, encrypted backups to secure cloud platforms provide an additional layer of security. We manage backup schedules, storage, and recovery plans, so you’re always prepared to bounce back from any data loss scenario.

Train Your Team

Your team is the first line of defense against cyber threats, but they can also be vulnerable without proper training. Employees should recognize phishing emails, avoid unsafe downloads, and understand basic password hygiene. We provide comprehensive training sessions using real-world simulations to empower your team and aid them in safeguarding your business.

Perform Regular Security Audits

Security audits help identify weaknesses in your current defenses and provide actionable insights for improvement. This involves reviewing access controls, firewall configurations, endpoint protections, and compliance with industry standards. Our audits go beyond detection as we implement the necessary fixes and continuously monitor progress, keeping your business resilient against ever-changing threats.

Control Access to Sensitive Information

Not every employee needs access to all your business systems and data. Implementing role-based access control ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to those who need it. For instance, financial records should only be available to your accounting team, while customer information should be limited to sales and support staff. We develop, enforce, and manage these policies to prevent accidental or malicious misuse.

Have an Incident Response Plan

Even the most secure systems can experience breaches. Having a well-defined incident response plan helps your team react appropriately when faced with a cyberattack. This includes immediately informing upper management and contacting your outsourced IT provider or Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) to identify the scope of the breach and hopefully recover data and systems.

Why Trust STACK Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is a continuous process that requires vigilance, expertise, and proactive measures. At STACK Cybersecurity, we partner with our clients to provide comprehensive protection against complex cyber threats.

What We Offer

Managed Incident Response

Our Managed eXtended Detection and Response (MXDR) service takes the pressure off your team, providing swift and effective responses to cyber incidents. We ensure threats are contained and resolved quickly, minimizing disruption and damage to your business.

Advanced Monitoring and Detection

We use advanced Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) to monitor, detect, and remediate threats before they escalate. This proactive approach keeps your systems secure and operational.

Compliance Support

Navigating industry regulations can be challenging, but we’re here to help. Whether you’re working toward compliance with CMMC or SOC 2 Type 2, our experts provide the guidance and support you need to meet critical standards quickly. STACK has attained SOC 2 Type 2 compliance so we uniquely understand this framework. We have already started our CMMC Level 2 journey as well.

Proactive Defense Strategies

We implement defense strategies tailored to your business, from vulnerability assessments to real-time threat detection. By proactively identifying and addressing risks, we help your business remain resilient against cyberattacks.

While cybersecurity requires collaboration, STACK Cybersecurity takes on the heavy lifting for you. Our team is dedicated to protecting your data, reputation, and operations through comprehensive services that secure your business from every angle.

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