Small businesses get hacked at alarming rates. According to recent data, 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses, but only 14% of them are actually prepared to defend themselves.

The problem isn't a lack of awareness. Most business owners know they should care about security. The issue is they're getting terrible advice about where to start.

The Three Fatal Mistakes

Mistake 1: Thinking You're Too Small to Be Targeted

Attackers don't care about your company size. They care about easy targets. Automated attacks scan millions of IP addresses looking for vulnerabilities. Your 10-person accounting firm is just as accessible as a Fortune 500 company to a bot running exploit scripts.

Ransomware doesn't discriminate. It encrypts the files of whoever clicks the wrong link, whether that's a solo consultant or a multinational corporation.

The financial impact is real and immediate. Organizations worldwide are experiencing ransomware attacks that hit supply chains, putting not just individual businesses at risk but their entire network of partners and vendors.

Mistake 2: Buying Security Tools Without a Plan

I see this constantly. A business owner hears about a breach in the news, panics, and buys an antivirus license for everyone. Then they hear about a VPN and buy that too. Maybe throw in some password manager because someone mentioned it at a conference.

Six months later, half the team isn't using any of it. The antivirus hasn't been updated. The VPN slows down their connection so they disable it. The password manager is "too complicated."

Random tools without a coherent strategy is like buying a deadbolt, a security camera, and a guard dog but leaving your back door wide open.

Mistake 3: Delegating Security to "Whoever Knows Computers"

Your nephew who built a gaming PC is not a cybersecurity expert. Your developer who codes your website is probably not either. Security is a specialized field, and assuming IT skills translate directly to security knowledge is how businesses end up with misconfigured firewalls and unpatched servers.

What Actually Works

Here's the framework I use with every client, regardless of size:

Start With the Basics That Matter

Before you spend a dollar on fancy security tools, get these fundamentals right:

• Multi-factor authentication on everything. Email, banking, cloud storage, accounting software. Everything.
• Regular backups that are tested and stored separately from your main systems.
• A password policy that makes sense. Not "change your password every 30 days to something with 47 special characters." That just leads to "Password123!" written on sticky notes.

These three things stop more attacks than any expensive security suite.

Layer Your Defenses Based on Real Threats

Different businesses face different risks. A law firm handling sensitive client data needs different tools than a landscaping company. A remote-first company has different exposures than one with a physical office.

Figure out what you're actually protecting and who wants it. Then build from there.

Make Security Convenient or It Won't Get Used

The best security tool in the world is useless if your team works around it. I've seen employees disable enterprise-grade endpoint protection because it slowed down their computer during video calls.

Security that interferes with work will be circumvented. Find solutions that protect without becoming obstacles.

You don't need a six-figure security budget. You need clear priorities and consistent execution.