Cyber security challenges for small to medium-sized enterprises: What you need to know
Earlier in the year we were invited to talk at an event hosted at UKAS, and organised by them and Red Swan Partners. It was a cyber security event aimed at the Testing, Inspection, Certification and Compliance (TICC) sector, and I talked about cyber security for small to medium-sized enterprises.
As it’s an interesting topic that’s relevant to lots of our customers, I thought I’d turn the talk into a blog post you can reference, along with a downloadable PDF that covers it in full detail.
Understanding the SME landscape
At Hexiosec we work with lots of small to medium-sized companies. We have a customer who has just two people, we have customers in the 30-400 people range, and lots in between. Given that we’re also an SME ourselves, we have plenty of direct and indirect experience of the typical challenges they face when it comes to cyber security.
Before we get into the threats and challenges, it’s worth understanding what we’re actually protecting. The typical technology stack at an SME might include a local network, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, a brochure website (i.e. a static site with no user login), and various third-party applications for HR, accounting and other business functions.
It’s easy to assume that everyone’s going to be wholly on the cloud. But that’s very much not the case, especially for older companies, regardless of how big they are. On the local network side, everyone’s got laptops and phones, at a minimum. And likely some networking equipment, even if for many it might be run by their landlord or property management company. We still fairly regularly see on-premises servers that are trickier or more expensive to move to the cloud, such as a local file storage server, or some business-specific server application such as a CAD server or an accounting platform.
Understanding what you have in place is the sensible first step when evaluating the relevant risks and threats a company faces - let’s cover them too.
The real threats and practical solutions
The talk covered the main cyber security threats that SMEs face today, and the reality might surprise you. While ransomware and sophisticated attacks make headlines, the complete threat landscape for small to medium-sized businesses looks quite different from what you might expect. The PDF download breaks down the specific types of attacks most commonly directed at organisations of your size, explaining not just what they are, but why they happen and what attackers are actually after.
There’s a common misconception that cyber criminals only target large enterprises with deep pockets. The report explores the specific vulnerabilities that make SMEs attractive to different types of threat actors, and more importantly, what you can do about it. We cover everything from basic security hygiene that every company should implement, through to more advanced measures for those ready to take the next step.
Download the full guide
This blog only scratches the surface of what was covered in the talk. The complete PDF download includes detailed breakdowns of threat types, specific security recommendations, implementation strategies, and practical advice based on our extensive experience working with SMEs across various sectors.
If you’re responsible for cyber security at a small to medium-sized enterprise, I’d encourage you to download the full PDF. It’s designed to be accessible and practical, cutting through the jargon to give you information you can actually use.
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