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A recent article in PC World advised small business owners to pay attention to their network security, as a breach could cost a small business thousands of dollars in economic damage, as well as the trust of clients and customers.
But investing in security does not have to break the bank - small businesses do not necessarily have to hire an independent IT contractor or install expensive security features, as long as they are careful about their security policies, the magazine reported.
Some guidelines included protecting user accounts with strong passwords and changing them regularly, carefully assessing email attachments and links, using a firewall, regularly backing up important data, and installing - and updating - antivirus and antispyware software.
Consumer routers generally have their own firewalls, and may offer other security features, though business routers have more security features and are not significantly more expensive, the article reported.
Despite widespread budget cuts, small businesses have not let the recession significantly change change their IT priorities - a recent IBM study reported that 53 percent of SMBs plan to increase or re-prioritize their IT spending.
Another way SMBs can invest in network security without straining their budget is to implement Unified Threat Management products instead of separate network security tools. UTMs offer consolidated web, network and email security which provides substantial cost savings while reducing the organization’s vulnerability to threats. They also offer costs savings in that there is only one solution to install and manage and by reducing energy requirements in the datacenter which reduces energy consumption and costs.
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