Last week, we talked about business resilience and social trust. Your business works because people trust your reputation. But a wide variety of threats pose significant risk to that reputation.
We also shared the quote from a commentator about the recent massive cyberattacks on some of Britain’s biggest retailers:
“If the goods these people sold were one-tenth as shoddy as their corporate cybersecurity, they’d have been out of business years ago.”
From storms to cyberattacks, from vendor failures to internet outages, your business will face disruptions. Devoting some mental bandwidth to prevention and planning is necessary to avoid the post-incident panic. Here are some specific tactics to develop your business resilience.
IT & Cybersecurity Foundations for Small Businesses
Cybersecurity is no longer optional. It’s the first line of defense for resilience. As we’ve talked about endlessly, business owners in Aiken cannot comfort themselves that they are off-radar for cybercriminals. You ARE a big fish.
BIT Services customers will be familiar with the following specifics for cyber hygiene:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):
Even if passwords are stolen, MFA can stop attackers cold. Require MFA for email, cloud tools, and remote access. MFA tools are easy to deploy and unintrusive.
- Endpoint Protection:
Modern threats evolve daily. The old antivirus solutions are obsolete. Use an endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform that monitors behavior and can isolate infected machines automatically.
- Email Filtering:
Most attacks start with a malicious email, and email is often a reason for clients to contact us initially. Free email just doesn’t cut it anymore. Advanced email security filters out phishing, malware, and business email compromise (BEC) attempts before they ever reach your inbox.
Backup & Disaster Recovery (BDR)
Backup is About Recovery, Not Just Storage
Whether you experience a cyberattack or natural disaster that affects your physical infrastructure, backup is an essential tool for resilience. For our backup services, we ensure that backups are:
- Automatic
- Monitored regularly
- Tested regularly
Help Your Employees: Cybersecurity Awareness
Employee Training:
Human error is your biggest risk. Teach staff to spot phishing, use secure passwords, and follow safe tech practices. Short, recurring video-based trainings are ideal. It’s important to also explain WHY this training is necessary. The overwhelming majority of IT problems and cyber incidents occur because of an employee’s mistake.
Business Continuity Planning (BCP) & IT Infrastructure
Disasters—big or small—shouldn’t shut you down. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, we discussed how to be a “business prepper,” including how to maintain power and communications during disaster.
Even if your business doesn’t need such deep resiliency, you’ll want to consider how to best serve your clients in case of disruptions like:
- Temporary power outages
- Hardware failures (if you are not planning your network ahead)
- Software hacks
- Cell network disruptions
You’ll want to:
- Identify critical systems for your business
- Create a response playbook so that you are prepared for the worst
Cloud Tools & Hybrid Infrastructure for Resilience
You’ll also want to consider your cloud usage and hybrid work options. Cloud tools help you adapt, scale, and survive disasters—but only if done right.
Cloud Advantages:
- Access work from anywhere
- Faster recovery during outages
- No on-premise server dependency
But Watch For:
- Data sprawl: Know where your data lives
- Misconfigurations: Poorly secured cloud storage is a major risk
- Compliance: If you handle customer data, make sure you’re meeting legal requirements
Insurance and Legal Readiness for SMBs
Finally, everyone’s favorite topic: insurance. Insurance won’t prevent disaster, but it can prevent financial ruin.
Cyber Liability Insurance:
Protects you from the cost of a cyberattack: data loss, downtime, legal action, and recovery. Many policies now require you to have basic cybersecurity (like MFA and backups) in place to qualify.
General Liability and Property Insurance:
Make sure coverage is up-to-date and accounts for inflation, expanded operations, and new risks (like work-from-home setups).
Final Thought: Resilience is Proactive Action
It’s not about avoiding all disruptions. It’s about responding quickly, reducing downtime, and keeping trust intact. If you’re a business owner in Aiken, building a resilient operation doesn’t require a big-city budget—just smart planning, trusted partnerships, and a willingness to prepare.