Small businesses in Houston need to deal with many challenges. However, among the most common issues faced by small Houston businesses, cyberattacks are the biggest threat to the life of a small business. There are many different forms of cyberattacks that small businesses are subjected to.
So, let us look at how IT support for small businesses in Houston protects the business against common cyber threats.
What Kinds of Cyberattacks Small Businesses Face?
Cyberattacks come in a variety of forms, each tailored to exploit specific weak points in a small business’s network. They also vary in their purpose as some are designed to damage the business network while others try to steal the precious data of the business.
Among the many different forms of cyberattacks that exist, the following are the most common forms of cyberattacks faced by small Houston businesses:
Distributed Denial of Service Attacks
Distributed denial of service attacks or DDoS attacks are a very common issue for small Houston businesses. This form of cyberattack prevents the clients and customers of a small business from making use of the online webpage run by the business.
In this attack, the perpetrators flood the website of the business with traffic that overloads the website, leading to the website slowing down significantly to the point where it can crash the system of a visitor.
Data Breaches
Small Houston businesses have to transfer valuable data from system to system during their daily work. Data breaches are a form of cyberattack that involves gaining unauthorized access to a business network. This allows for redirection of precious data towards the perpetrator instead of its intended destination.
Ransomware
Ransomware has become one of the most common cyber threats faced by businesses. According to The HIPAA Journal, almost 88% of the companies were targeted with ransomware in the year 2024. Ransomware is a form of cyberattack that locks the small Houston business from accessing its own data unless it pays a ransom to the perpetrator.
Phishing
Phishing or social engineering is a form of cyberattack that targets the employees of a small Houston business. Phishing involves the perpetrator sending emails, messages, or links to the employees that disguise themselves as legitimate sources. All of these try to convince the employee to disclose valuable credentials.
The perpetrator then uses this information for their own benefit at the cost of the business.
Insider Threats
While the employees of a small Houston business are their biggest asset, they can also become its biggest liability as well. Insider threats are a form of cyberattack where the perpetrator is an employee of the business. These employees either disclose valuable credentials or send the data of the business to outsiders.
How IT Support Deals with Cyberthreats
Most small businesses in Houston lack the expertise and tools needed to deal with all of these cyber threats. IT support services in Houston for small businesses are comprised of services that help businesses protect themselves against these cyberattacks.
IT support for small businesses performs the following tasks to ensure proper cybersecurity for small businesses:
Risk and Vulnerabilities Assessment
Every small Houston business has a different network layout. This results in different weaknesses and unique vulnerabilities that a cyberattack can target. To protect a business network, IT support services for small Houston businesses conduct assessments of the business network to map out its vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
Training of Employees
Training employees on how to maintain security on their designated systems is one of the best ways to handle cybersecurity. IT support for small Houston businesses offers to train the employees of a business in how to manage security on their systems. This includes training in making difficult passwords, not opening suspicious links, etc.
Cloud Backup Services
Even with proper measures taken at the right time against an incoming cyberattack, damage is often unavoidable. To help a business recover from such events, cloud services are provided to small Houston businesses. This allows IT support for small businesses to create a backup of precious business data which allows for full recovery from such events.
Virus Removal
Cyberattacks are initiated with a computer virus that is sent to a system owned by a small Houston business. IT support for small businesses in Houston constantly scans each system in a business for files containing computer viruses. Once detected, they remove virus from the system to prevent a successful cyberattack.
Active Monitoring
IT support for small Houston businesses constantly monitors all the activities that are occurring on the business network. They ensure that only systems with the right credentials access the network. IT support also tracks the movement of data on the network to see where it is being sent from and where it is being sent.
If you are in search of a reliable IT support service for small businesses in Houston, contact ITCloudGlobal today.
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