Has the landscape of small business security improved over the last few years? This is the question I’m asking myself as we roll into 2016. As a former IT administrator for my friend’s small drafting company, which involved a wide breadth of IT related tasks from managing their five desktop computers to securing their network firewall, I’ve witnessed first-hand the types of IT challenges a typical small business faces on a daily basis. A common phrase echoed by politicians and economists is, ‘Small business is the backbone of the economy.’
Today, there are over 28 million small businesses representing over 55% of jobs in the US, according to the small business administration [1]. This is a perfect example of the importance of smaller companies in our society and economy, and exactly why we’re on a mission to keep them secure.
Consider the Statistics …
- One in five SMBs fall victim to some version of cybercrime every year. [2]
- Among businesses that suffer a breach, approximately 60 percent go out of business within six months of the attack.[3]
- Over 80 percent of hacking attempts on SMBs result in confirmed data loss. [2]
Today’s security landscape is a dynamic environment with new zero-day malware and system vulnerabilities found every day. If you talk to small-business owners, most would tell you they understand the need to protect against cyberattacks. Just knowing you need to implement proper security controls around the most critical assets isn’t enough. For a small business that is focused on driving business, yet lacks a dedicated security resource, it can be challenging to stay on top of the latest security concerns and proactively implement technologies to protect the business.
Unfortunately, hackers understand the vulnerabilities of a small business. Intellectual source code, credit card data, and customer data are valuable assets often sought after by cybercriminals. A small business may also provide convenient entry into the networks of larger companies that contract them for services. Proper security requires understanding the types of threats and vulnerabilities happening today, and learning which products are best suited to limiting exposure and risk to cyberattacks.
Fortunately for small business owners, as well as their employees, vendors and customers, security products exist today that protect against cyber-threats. The Check Point 700 Appliance is a high-performance, integrated device offering firewall, VPN, antivirus, anti-bot, application visibility and control, URL filtering, and email security, all in a compact desktop form factor. This solution is the first in a new series of security appliances designed to address several key area of small-business security:
Advanced Protections
The Check Point 700 Appliance is specifically designed to protect small businesses from the most sophisticated cyber-attacks and zero-day threats. The product delivers the same expert security features that Check Point provides to protect Fortune 1000 companies for over 20 years. Business owners can be confident knowing their firewall also uses the same Check Point threat intelligence to deliver the best malware catch rates in the industry.
Performance
Most often, vendor-stated bandwidth claims fall short when placed in a real-world environment. Also, as internet speeds degrade over time, security services are often disabled to compensate. This action is an open invitation for internet attacks. The new Check Point 700 Appliance integrates new hardware that provides unparalleled security without the performance degradation witnessed by other firewalls. Small businesses are able to maintain full internet performance without the worry of disabling key security features.
Simple
Small business requires a security appliance that is simple to configure and manage, yet delivers robust security alert information that is actionable and automated. The Check Point 700 Appliance is the ideal solution for businesses that require a firewall that can be up-and-running within minutes, yet doesn’t require years of security experience to manage. The product utilizes a local web-based interface from which firewall policies, logs, and reports can be generated quickly, thus allowing companies to stay on top of their security.
Secure and simple, these new appliances from Check Point provide the best security in a high-performance hardware platform to protect small businesses from zero-day attacks and malware.
Learn more about the new 700 appliances and how they can help address future needs.
[1] Small Business Association
[2] National Cybersecurity Alliance
[3] 2015 Verizon Data Breach Report