Which Cyber Security Is Best For Small Businesses?

Businesses are now flooded with choices for cybersecurity systems, but how do you know which one is the best option for your small business? We know the importance of ensuring data protection is maintained at a high standard, which is why we’ve compiled a list of the top cybersecurity software for small businesses here.

Why Is Cybersecurity Important For Small Businesses?

Before diving in, let’s look at why cybersecurity is so important for small businesses. It is crucial for every business as everything is slowly moving towards the cloud and online storage becomes more prominent, this is especially important for companies that manage sensitive information. Cybersecurity attacks were on the rise between 2021-2022 in the UK, with millions of attacks and threats made according to the UK’s National Cyber Security Center. 

What Should Small Businesses Look for in Cybersecurity?

For small businesses to ensure that they are choosing the correct cybersecurity software for them, there are a few key factors that should be considered. For example, they will need firewall protection which will act as a shield against cyber threats and email and web security to ensure no spam or email phishing is happening. 

Likewise, businesses will need to consider the size of their company, and how many employees they have alongside their budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of cybersecurity software and providers who can help businesses of varying sizes in the UK!

What Can Small Businesses Do to Improve Cybersecurity?

As cyber-attacks can be quite common for small businesses due to the lack of cybersecurity implemented, alongside the likelihood of un-trained staff who use the cloud, it is important that businesses implement a plan to ensure their data online is secure. There should first be methods in place to train staff on correct internet use, to reduce the risk of things like phishing attacks, which often occur from the misuse of emails and clicking or downloading threatening material.

Best Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

There is much great cybersecurity software out there and it’s important to know the requirements for your business, which can be dependent on staff size and whether or not there is sensitive data stored in your computer system. There is no doubt that paid cybersecurity services offer the most protection and if your business is required to manage sensitive data, this should be highly considered, however, there are also some free options that might improve your online security, too.

Benefits of Paid Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

To ensure that your business is completely protected, opting for a paid cybersecurity program is the best option, as it ensures advanced threat protection through many different features, including behavioural detection, virus removal assurance, spam blocking and safe identity checks. Furthermore, businesses will have confidence in knowing that they are complying with data protection regulations and in turn, reducing the risk of potential fines. 

We have curated this list of some of the free cybersecurity software available for small businesses, and many of the following systems offer a free trial period that small businesses can take advantage of, too.

Best Free Cybersecurity Software For Small Businesses

There are also some great ways to implement cybersecurity measures yourself,  that are cost-effective or completely free! However, it’s important to note that there are multiple limitations to using free cybersecurity software, including not being fully protected and having limited infrastructure, which isn’t ideal for businesses. We’ve curated a small list here of ways you can improve cybersecurity in your small business on a budget:

1.Strong Password Use

Ensuring that you have protected your information with strong passwords that haven’t been used previously, are at least 12 characters, are unpredictable (i.e. not Password1) and have unique characters (i.e. $, ! or %). For sensitive data, this should also be accompanied by a dual-identification process.

2.Back-up Data Regularly

By ensuring that your data is backed-up regularly, ideally to an off-site location. This will decrease the likelihood of losing important information.

3.Use Cloud-based Systems

There are multiple, reputable cloud systems that have great cybersecurity measures to protect data. Some of the top free antivirus software are listed here:

Avast Antivirus

Avast antivirus is free antivirus software that has great features to protect your data securely with ransomware software available and a basic firewall in place. It’s important to be mindful that most of the free services are only accessible through the Windows platform. Although this antivirus will identify problems and apps with potential security breaches, however, does not automatically rectify or update them.

AVG Free AntiVirus

AVG is actually owned by Avast and offers a very similar service when it comes to antivirus, but the main difference is that they offer more free features across Android, Macs and iOS. 

Bitdefender

This AntVirus offers extremely basic free coverage and excludes some basics that are crucial for any small business, such as ransomware remediation and vulnerability score.