As we discussed previously, cyberattacks against small businesses are on the rise. Mid-market companies are falling victim to data theft, phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks at an alarming rate. Luckily, there are ways for these companies to improve their cybersecurity.

Below are the questions that mid-market companies need to ask when evaluating vendors:

• What is the true Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)? Using a TCO approach helps you identify the total cost of a vendor’s solution and flag vulnerabilities or shortcomings in the process. While the TCO for cloud-based solutions is typically lower than traditional systems, there can be several hidden costs. One consideration is how many full-time employees (FTEs) you need to operate the platform effectively. While some automated solutions can run with little input after setup, others may require burdensome training, interaction, and oversight.
• How many FTEs will I need to operate the solution effectively? The SANS Institute surveyed mid-market companies with a median employee count of 80 and found that half had only one dedicated cybersecurity employee, less than what they consider “ideal.” In reality, security for small businesses should not require any full-time resources. Instead, the technology, once implemented, should support a ‘set it and forget it’ methodology.
• Against which threats am I going to be protected? Small businesses must identify what types of protection the solution provides and whether or not it offers automatic responses. Will it protect the organization from phishing, malware, ransomware, commjacking, data leakage, and other attacks? If the product is a point solution that does not cover most threats – skip it. You don’t have time, staff, and money to create a complex web of security products.
• What kind of training will my team need? Small businesses don’t have time to train their staff regularly or on technology that is foreign to their work responsibilities. So, if the vendor publishes elaborate training programs you need to send your people to, the product is probably too complex for your business.

Security-as-a-Service for mid-market companies

Coro’s all-in-one data breach protection service provides small and mid-sized businesses with a simple, affordable, and instant-on solution offering real-time protection against cyber risks. With Coro, small and mid-sized companies can accomplish the following:

• 24/7 monitoring of their business for cyber security threats
• Automatically block suspicious and abnormal user behavior
• Identify and prevent sensitive data leakage (such as PII, PHI, and PCI)
• Prevent malware and ransomware spread in cloud applications and email
• Ensure that employee and company devices are secure and connected to safe networks

Want to learn more about our data breach protection platform and how it helps your small business?