Although SMBs experience many of the same cybersecurity challenges as bigger companies, they have more difficulty addressing these risks due to financial and staffing constraints. With that in mind, here's a look at today's SMB landscape and how a business password manager helps address many of SMBs' most pressuring cybersecurity concerns.
SMB cybersecurity threats: an increasing concern
Just like their larger counterparts, SMBs experience cybersecurity threats, like ransomware attacks, but struggle to properly tackle these risks with their limited budgets and overextended IT staff. Until recently, many of these companies also assumed that their relatively smaller size made them less of a target to cyberattacks when that was not the case.
Not only has the SMB cybersecurity landscape changed since the pandemic, but SMBs themselves have also become more aware of the threats they face. According to The State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2020, a recent study from ConnectWise and Vanson Bourne, 86% of SMBs indicate that cybersecurity is within their top five organizational priorities and, within that figure, 38% of SMBs state that it is their top priority.
Why are SMBs taking cybersecurity more seriously now? One key factor is likely the dramatic rise in remote work during the pandemic. According to the report, 79% of SMBs are worried about their remote devices or remote employees being breached, and 42% of SMBs claim that they are investing more in cybersecurity because they have more employees working remotely than they did before.
In addition, SMBs appear to be much more concerned about falling prey to a breach — 44% of them report being extremely worried about a breach now as opposed to just 29% of them the year before. One way SMBs can reduce the risk of such a breach is by using a business password manager to secure every password-protected entry point into the business.
How a business password manager helps protect SMBs
SMBs can use a business password manager to protect sensitive business, customer, and employee data in several ways. For starters, employees can use a password manager to store all their passwords in a secure, encrypted vault that they can access from any of their devices. This beats the old-fashioned method of writing passwords down on a Post-it note, which isn't secure let alone manageable at this point since the average employee has at least 200 passwords.
Once an employee's passwords are securely stored in the vault, the password manager automatically fills them in every time the employee needs to log in to one of their accounts. This saves employees time and boosts their productivity, eliminating the need to hunt down a password when they need to access a particular account. A password manager also makes it easy for employees to securely share passwords with each other instead of passing them around by email or chat and unintentionally putting the business at risk.
When the password manager spots an insecure password, it can automatically generate a new, secure password to take its place. This takes the guesswork out of trying to come up with a unique password for each online account. A business password manager also monitors the dark web and alerts employees when their accounts have been breached so they can take prompt action before those accounts are compromised in an attack.
IT can also use a business password manager to enforce password policies and access actionable insights into employees' password behavior from an admin dashboard, quickly uncovering any potential risks to the company. Since 98% of respondents to a study commissioned by LastPass indicated that they see room for improvement in the security behavior of their employees, this is an important capability for IT to have.
How SMBs can teach their employees good password hygiene
A company's security is only as strong as its weakest link. This applies to humans as much as it does to the technology itself, and it's why creating a security-aware company culture is one of our top 3 online security tips for SMB IT pros. Make sure to offer regular security awareness trainings in which you teach your employees about good password hygiene and how to practice it.
Your employees should use strong, unique passwords for each of their personal and work accounts. If they re-use the same password or a variation of that password for multiple accounts, hackers will find it very easy to get into those accounts if they manage to obtain the original password. In addition, employees should update all their passwords on an annual basis. If they learn that one of their accounts has been compromised, they should immediately change the password on that account, too.
All of this may seem like a lot of work at first, which is why your employees may be experiencing cognitive dissonance. Chances are, they already know it's important to use good password hygiene, but they haven't put in the effort to make the change because they don't think the risk is that high. You can solve this problem by giving them a business password manager that reduces the burden of manually managing passwords. With the right tools and training, your employees can do their part to protect themselves and the company.
Protect your SMB with a business password manager
SMBs need to take the time to understand the cybersecurity risks before them, especially now that they are supporting a remote workforce. A business password manager can help them strengthen their cybersecurity posture by easing the burden associated with keeping employee credentials secure. That way, SMBs and their employees can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are taking the right steps to keep the company safe.
Discover how a business password manager can protect your digital business. 
