5 questions to ask before choosing the right protection for your small business

Choosing cybersecurity for a small business can get complicated. There are dozens of products, bundles and features, so how do you know what actually fits your small business?

The key is to start with what you need. Don't choose cybersecurity by comparing feature lists. Start with your business and how it actually works: what you use, who has access to it, how you work and what could cause real trouble if something went wrong.

Here are five questions worth asking before you choose.

Key takeaways:

• Start with the devices, accounts, data and other digital assets your business actually depends on.
• Choose protection that can adapt as you add or remove employees, collaborators and devices.
• Look beyond antivirus to protection against phishing, scams, ransomware, stolen passwords and compromised accounts.
• Small business security should be easy to install and manage, especially if you don't have dedicated IT staff.
• Consider what help you'll get when something goes wrong, not only which threats a solution promises to prevent.

How to choose the right cybersecurity for your small business

Before comparing products or prices, take a few minutes to think about what your business actually needs. These five questions can help you narrow down your options and choose protection that fits the way you work.

1. What do I actually need to protect?

Your laptop is an obvious answer, but it probably isn't the whole answer. Think about your phone, business email, cloud storage, banking and payment accounts, social media, website administration, customer information and any other online accounts you couldn't easily work without.

Then consider what would happen if you suddenly lost access to one of them or someone else gained access instead.

This gives you a much better starting point than simply asking whether you need antivirus. You're not protecting just a computer. You're protecting the devices, accounts, information and other digital assets your business depends on every day.

2. Am I protecting just myself, or other people too?

Cybersecurity becomes more complicated as soon as you're no longer the only person using your business systems. Employees may have their own laptops and phones, access shared accounts, receive business emails and handle customer information. Contractors or collaborators may also need access to your business tools while they're working with you.

So think about how many people and devices you need to protect today, but also what could change. What happens if you hire someone, bring in a contractor for a few months or simply add more devices?

Look at how flexible the protection is. Can you easily add people or devices when you need them? Can you move to a different plan if your business grows or scale back down if your needs change?

You shouldn't have to rethink your entire security setup every time your business changes.

3. Does it protect me from the ways small businesses are actually attacked?

Some attacks will target you as a person, while others will target your business. For a small business owner, the two can be difficult to separate.

Think about what an attack on your business might actually look like. It could be a fake invoice, a phishing email, a stolen password or someone impersonating a supplier or colleague to trick you into sending money or sharing information.

So when comparing security solutions, don't get distracted by a long list of features. Look beyond traditional malware protection and consider whether you're also protected against phishing, scams, malicious websites, ransomware, stolen passwords and compromised accounts, the different ways an attack could reach you, your employees and your business.

4. How much time will it take me to manage?

A security setup may look impressive on paper, but if it requires you to constantly configure settings, check different apps or troubleshoot problems, how realistically are you going to maintain it?

Most small businesses don't have a dedicated IT person to manage cybersecurity. And you shouldn't need one just to keep your protection working.

Look for something that's straightforward to install, easy to manage across your business and capable of handling as much as possible automatically in the background.

Good protection should make your job easier, not give you another job.

5. What happens when something goes wrong?

Even with good protection, things can still go wrong. An employee may click something suspicious, a password may turn up in a data breach, or you may receive an invoice or message that you're simply not sure you can trust.

Before choosing a security solution, look at what kind of help you'll have in those situations. Will it warn you about problems you might otherwise miss? Can it help you check suspicious links or scams? Are the alerts clear enough to understand what happened and what you should do next? And can you get support when you need it?

Good cybersecurity isn't only about preventing threats. It should also help you spot problems early, understand what you're dealing with and decide what to do next.

Find small business protection that fits the way you work

You could spend hours comparing security products and feature lists. But the right protection for a small business should ultimately fit the way you work and be simple enough to actually use and manage.

Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security is built specifically for very small businesses, including those without dedicated IT staff. You can protect from 2 to 25 people and adjust your plan as your business changes, while managing protection from one central dashboard.

It also goes beyond traditional device security. Alongside protection against malware, ransomware, phishing and other online threats, you get Scam Copilot, an AI-powered scam detection and prevention tool trained to recognize scams, including those targeting businesses. It can help you and your employees check suspicious messages, links and other potential scams before acting on them.

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

You may also want to read:

• How to tell if your small business is properly protected
• The easiest way to manage security across all your business devices
• Don't wait for a cyberattack: What previously breached businesses do differently

FAQs

What cybersecurity does a small business need?

It depends on how your business operates, but protection should cover more than your computers. Consider the devices, business accounts, email, passwords, customer information and other digital assets you rely on, as well as threats such as malware, ransomware, phishing and scams.

Is antivirus enough for a small business?

Antivirus is an important layer of protection, but small businesses also face phishing, scams, malicious websites, stolen passwords and account takeovers. Look for security that protects more than individual devices.

How do I choose cybersecurity for my small business?

Start with your business rather than a list of security features. Consider what you need to protect, how many people and devices need protection, the threats you're likely to face, how easy the solution is to manage and what help you'll have if something goes wrong.

Do small businesses need cybersecurity if they only have a few employees?

Yes. Even a business with only a few employees can rely on valuable accounts, customer information, payment systems and other digital assets. Small businesses can also be targeted by phishing, scams, ransomware and attempts to steal passwords or access business accounts.

Can small business cybersecurity cover employees and contractors?

It depends on the solution and plan. If employees, contractors or collaborators use devices or accounts for your business, check whether you can easily add or remove people and devices as your needs change.