Cybersecurity for SMEs: keys to protection

Small and medium-sized businesses face the challenge of protecting their digital assets, ensuring the continuity of their operations and maintaining their corporate reputation, in the face of the new generation of cyberattacks: increasingly sophisticated, frequent and damaging.

According to INCIBE’s 2023 Cybersecurity Report, more than 22,000 cybersecurity incidents affected private companies in Spain last year. Cybercriminals are particularly taking advantage of the limited resources of SMEs to attack them. The less mature the protection system, the greater the number of vulnerabilities and the greater the chances of success for attackers.

The impact of cyberattacks on SMEs

A cyber attack affects both operational capacity and customer confidence. And therefore also finances and business continuity.

Reports from the Spanish Civil Guard¹ indicate that 57% of cases in which SMEs are forced to cease operations after an incident. They do so due to the costs derived from ransoms (in cases of ransomware), fines for non-compliance with regulations and, perhaps most importantly, the loss of trust from their customers..

Against this backdrop, it is evident that cybersecurity must be a vital priority for any company, regardless of its size or sector.

Cybersecurity is not a luxury, but a strategic necessity

Cybersecurity is not limited to technology itself; it requires a strategic approach that combines prevention, detection and response to incidents. This means being trained and prepared in advance, both to prevent and to confront a potential attack. 

In the specific case of an SME, it is the person responsible for decision-making who must plan the key points, mainly:

• Risk analysis and management: Identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
• Response protocols: establish a clear plan to react quickly in the event of an attack.
• Regulatory compliance: implement specific security measures, verify how data protection is managed and plan for reporting incidents to the competent authorities.

What to do when faced with an attack? Develop own response protocol

When an attack occurs, speed and organization are essential, so we suggest some fundamental steps so that, in case it happens, you are prepared:

• 1- Create a crisis committee: involve all relevant departments to assess potential situations, define a joint strategy and the responsibilities of each member in the event of an incident.
• 2- Notify the competent authorities: depending on the type of incident, INCIBE must be notified and, if personal data is compromised, the Spanish Data Protection Agency must be notified within a maximum period of 72 hours.
• 3- Preserve evidence: To collaborate with forensic experts and comply with regulations, it will be necessary to collect logs that can be used as evidence for legal proceedings or insurance claims.

Regulatory framework: mandatory compliance and legal protection

European regulations, such as the recent NIS2 directive, require companies to adopt proactive cybersecurity measures. Non-compliance can result in significant fines and irreversible reputational damage.

Resilience as a corporate priority

To address an ever-evolving threat landscape, SMBs must take a continuous approach to cyber resilience. This includes regular employee training, proactive system monitoring, and implementing advanced security solutions that span the entire digital ecosystem.

Transparent Edge solutions for digital businesses

Our proposal adapts to the needs of both SMEs and large companies, and focuses on the versatility of Perimetrical, our cybersecurity suite.

We understand that cybersecurity is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort, and that’s why we’ve designed highly efficient technology designed to protect and maximize the performance of websites and APIs.

Perimetrical is a comprehensive solution that combines different threat detection and response technologies to stop all types of attacks known today. Its main benefits for an SME can be summarized in three points:

• Prevent and mitigate attacks with advanced proactive detection and response technologies: WAF, Bot Mitigation, Anti-DDoS and Anomaly Detection, among others.
• Protect from edge to origin while optimizing performance, reducing cloud costs, and improving customer experience.
• Simplify security management by responding to incidents from a single platform, freeing your team from analyzing and managing large amounts of data.

With Perimetrical, companies can significantly reduce the risk of cyberattacks and focus on what really matters: growing their business safely and strategically.

Cybersecurity as a commitment to the future

SMEs that adopt a proactive mindset in this area not only manage to minimize the impact of cyberattacks, but also strengthen their position in the market, earning the trust of customers and partners.

In an environment where digital transformation is key, prioritizing cyber resilience ensures that companies can adapt, innovate and thrive without compromising their security.

1. Digital Security Forum: «El 57 % de los autónomos y negocios que cesan su actividad en España es debido a un ciberataque» ↩︎