How to tell if your small business is properly protected

You have antivirus on your computers, you use strong passwords and you've probably heard enough about multi-factor authentication by now to know that you should be using it. Maybe you also back up your important files, use a VPN when you're working away from the office and regularly remind employees not to click suspicious links.

But how do you know whether all of that is actually enough to protect your business? Here is how to check.

Key takeaways:

Small business security isn't just about having antivirus. Your devices, accounts, data and employees all need protection.
Check that every device used for work is protected and updated, including phones, personal devices and older computers that still access business accounts.
Use MFA and unique passwords on your most important accounts, particularly email, banking, payment, cloud storage and administrator accounts.
Make sure employees know how to recognize and verify suspicious requests involving payments, passwords or access to business devices.
Backups only help if they work, so regularly test that you can restore important business files.
Review your security whenever your business changes, including when you add devices, accounts, services or employees.

7 things to review in your small business security

These seven questions can help you spot gaps in your current security and identify what may need more attention.

1. Are all the devices you use for work protected?

You might work from a laptop at home, check business email from your phone or occasionally use a tablet while traveling. Employees may do the same, particularly if you allow remote or hybrid work.

Make a quick inventory and check whether every device that regularly handles business information is protected, updated and still receiving security patches. Don't forget older computers that are only used occasionally or personal devices that employees are allowed to use for work.

A forgotten device can become a forgotten security gap, particularly if it still has access to your email, cloud storage or other important business accounts.

2. Are your most important accounts properly protected?

Think about what would happen if someone gained access to your main business email account. From there, they might be able to reset passwords for other services, see invoices and customer conversations, impersonate you or your employees, and potentially gain access to other parts of the business.

Check that multi-factor authentication is enabled on the accounts that would cause the most damage if they were compromised, including business email, banking and payment services, accounting software, cloud storage, social media and administrator accounts.

Passwords matter too. Every important account should have a strong, unique password rather than a variation of the same familiar password you've been using for years. A password manager can make that much easier without expecting you or your employees to remember dozens of complicated passwords.

3. Do you know what information about your business is already public?

Search for your business online and look at what is publicly available. An attacker may be able to find employee names and roles, email addresses, phone numbers, information about suppliers or customers, social media accounts and details about the technology or services your company uses.

None of those pieces of information necessarily creates a security problem on its own, and much of it may need to be public for customers to find and contact you. The risk comes from how that information can be combined and used to make a scam much more believable.

4. Would you and your employees recognize a scam?

You can have good security on your devices and still be vulnerable if someone in the business can be convinced to hand over a password, approve a payment or give a stranger remote access to a computer.

For a small business, this is particularly important because scammers know how to take advantage of the way smaller teams work. You may know your suppliers personally, move quickly when a customer needs something and rely on email, messaging apps or online payment services throughout the day. An urgent invoice or a message that appears to come from a colleague may not immediately look suspicious, especially when you're busy.

Make sure everyone knows how to verify an unusual request, such as a supplier suddenly changing their bank details or someone asking for remote access, and who to tell if they think something is suspicious.

5. Could you recover your important files if you lost them today?

Having backups is one of those security measures that can make you feel protected simply because you've set them up. The real test, however, is whether you could actually recover your data when you need it.

Consider the information your business couldn't easily replace: customer records, contracts, invoices, financial documents, project files, photos, designs or anything else you rely on to keep working. Check where those files are backed up, how often the backups happen and whether a problem affecting your everyday systems could also affect your backups

Try restoring a few files and make sure they open correctly.

6. Do you know what you would do if something went wrong?

Imagine that you open your laptop tomorrow morning and discover that you can't access important files. Or an employee tells you they entered their Microsoft 365 password on a suspicious website. Perhaps a customer calls because they received a strange invoice that appears to have come from your company.

What happens next? You need a simple incident response plan. That could mean knowing how to disconnect an affected device without wiping evidence you may need later, who has administrator access to important accounts, how to reset compromised credentials, where your backups are stored and who to contact if money or customer information may be involved. Keep contact details for your IT provider, cybersecurity provider, bank, insurer and any other service you may need somewhere you can reach even if your usual computer or email account is unavailable.

7. Has your security kept up with your business?

Small-business security often develops one piece at a time. You install protection on a laptop, enable MFA on a few accounts, add another employee, subscribe to a new cloud service and eventually replace an old computer. Each decision makes sense on its own, but after a while it can become difficult to remember what is protected, what isn't and whether something has changed.

Review your setup whenever someone joins or leaves the business, you add a new device or start using a new service, and remove accounts, access and devices you no longer need.

Make small business security easier to manage

There isn't a point where you can declare a business completely protected and never think about cybersecurity again. New devices and accounts appear, employees change, software gets updated and the scams targeting businesses continue to evolve.

For a small business, it helps to have the essentials in one security solution rather than trying to keep track of several different tools. It should also be easy to manage from one place and flexible enough to add protection as your team grows or you bring new devices into the business.

Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security is designed with that in mind, helping small businesses protect their devices, accounts and employees without requiring in-house cybersecurity expertise. It combines protection against malware, ransomware, phishing and other online threats with tools that help employees identify scams and suspicious links, while giving you one dashboard where you can manage your business security.

Security still needs your attention from time to time, but it shouldn't require you to become a cybersecurity expert. What matters is knowing what you're protecting, being able to see when something needs your attention and having protection that can keep up as your business changes.

Try Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security free for 30 days. No credit card required.

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FAQs

How do I know if my small business is secure?

Start by checking the areas that would matter most if something went wrong. Make sure all devices used for work are protected and updated, important accounts use strong unique passwords and MFA, employees know how to recognize suspicious requests, and your important data is backed up and can be restored. You should also know what to do and who to contact if an account, device or payment is compromised.

Is antivirus enough to protect a small business?

No. Antivirus is an important layer of protection, but small businesses also need to protect their online accounts, passwords and data. Employees should know how to recognize scams and phishing attempts, and the business should have working backups and a basic plan for responding to security incidents.

What cybersecurity does a small business need?

The exact setup depends on how your business operates, but the basics include protection for all work devices, regular software updates, unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, secure backups and protection against phishing, scams, malware and ransomware. Businesses should also control who has access to important accounts and remove access when it is no longer needed.

How often should I review my small business cybersecurity?

A quick security check every few months is a good habit, but you should also review your protection whenever something important changes. Adding a new employee, buying a device, adopting a new cloud service or payment platform, or someone leaving the business can all create new accounts, access or devices that need to be managed.

What are the biggest cybersecurity gaps small businesses should check for?

Common gaps include unprotected or outdated devices, reused passwords, missing MFA, old employee accounts that still have access, untested backups and employees who aren't sure how to handle suspicious emails, payment requests or support calls. It's also worth checking what information about your business is publicly available and could be used to make scams more convincing.