Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting small businesses. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a powerful tool to protect your organization.

Criminals constantly evolve their tactics to find ways around your business’ digital defenses. In an era of automated hacking tools, generative AI, and increasingly sophisticated phishing techniques, passwords are no longer sufficient to protect your systems.

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Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an easy way to implement an additional layer of protection and keep your business secure. In this post, we'll dive into what 2FA is and why it’s uniquely crucial for SMBs.

SMBs are increasingly cybercriminals’ favorite targets

Many small business owners mistakenly believe they're too small to be targeted, but SMBs are rapidly becoming cybercriminals’ prime targets. Unlike large enterprises that can invest heavily in fortifying their digital infrastructures, small businesses have fewer security resources at their disposal. In a recent study, researchers found that 61% of SMBs were targeted for cyberattacks and 82% of all ransomware attacks were against companies with fewer than 1,000 employees. 

Rising cyber threats targeting small businesses:
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• ‍Phishing attacks: Cybercriminals use deceptive emails or spoofed websites to trick employees into revealing sensitive information such as login credentials. Indeed, 91% of cyberattacks are initiated through phishing emails to unsuspecting employees. ‍
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• Data breaches: Most SMBs handle some form of sensitive customer information. Breaches can cause potentially irreparable damage to your business’ reputation and your customers.
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• Financial transfer fraud: One of the biggest threats facing SMBs is financial transfer fraud in which criminals manipulate unsuspecting employees into routing legitimate payments into illegitimate accounts.

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82% of all ransomware attacks were against companies with fewer than 1,000 employees. 

So, what is two-factor authentication (2FA)?

Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of security beyond traditional username and password logins. With 2FA, employees can only access key systems by providing a unique piece of information (a key) in addition to their login and password. This extra key can take many forms, including tokens, authentication questions, locations, and even biometrics. Here are some of the benefits that 2FA delivers for small businesses:‍
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• ‍Increases security: With 2FA, even if an attacker acquires a user's name/password combination, they can’t gain entry without the second key. This significantly reduces the likelihood of unauthorized access.‍
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• Mitigates employee error: Your employees might use weak passwords or fall victim to sophisticated phishing scams. With 2FA, you have a safety net, which reduces the impact of human error.‍
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• Protects sensitive data: If you’re among the 87% of small businesses that handle private customer data, cybercriminals have additional motivation to find their way into your system. 2FA is a must.

How to implement 2FA for your small business

Implementing 2FA is easy for organizations of all sizes to do without a lot of time and IT resources:
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1. Enable 2FA for web services: Many cloud-based services (email, cloud, financial systems, etc) have 2FA already baked in as an option. Make sure to implement it in all key systems where available.
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2. Educate employees: Train your staff on the importance of 2FA and how to use it effectively.
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3. Regularly update and monitor: Keep all software, applications, and 2FA methods up-to-date. Regularly monitor access logs and account activity.

If you’re an Upfort Shield customer, your admin can easily enable 2FA for all Upfort employee and admin portals. All admins have to do is navigate to the “Protections” tab > unfurl the “2 Factor Authentication” section > toggle on.

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The start of your business’ security journey, not the end…

Two-factor authentication is no longer a luxury for small businesses, it’s a necessity. Small businesses may fret over the perceived complication of implementing 2FA, but the real worry is the potential cost of a security breach, which may take the form of financial losses, tarnished reputation, and legal liabilities. 

In addition to basic precautions such as 2FA, you should consider state-of-the-art security tools like Upfort Shield that provide a suite of protections specifically developed for small businesses including email and browser defenses, employee training, and proactive endpoint monitoring of your entire infrastructure. Shield implementation is associated with a dramatic decrease in claims related to fraudulent wire transfers, ransomware, and other cyber attacks. 

Have a policy that includes Upfort Shield? Click here to implement protections right away. If not, click here and learn how to start protecting your business today.