Identifying how much time and money you should invest in cybersecurity can be difficult, especially for smaller businesses without in-house IT staff. But Gulf South Technology Solutions COO Kelsie Moak insists improving your company’s cyber defenses doesn’t have to mean spending big. Here are he r top five steps for getting started. Gulf South Technology Solutions COO Kelsie Moak. (File photo) Shift your mindset Many small business owners still think they’re too small to be a target. Moak says they couldn’t be more wrong. “It’s really the opposite,” she says. “Cyber criminals love small businesses because they’re easy targets.” Hackers often cast wide nets, targeting businesses with weak defenses and exploiting simple oversights. The first step is recognizing that cybersecurity isn’t optional. It’s part of doing business in 2025. Lock down the basics Start with simple, no-cost measures that block the majority of attacks: Turn on multifactor authentication, or MFA, on anything and everything—email, banking, payroll, you name it. “There’s usually no additional cost to do so,” Moak says, “and it prevents a very, very high percentage of attacks.” Keep software updated. Enable automatic updates for Windows, macOS, Microsoft 365 and any other major platforms or systems. Use strong, unique passphrases. Note the word “phrases”—Moak suggests using phrases that are long, memorable and hard to guess, not just single words. Train your team “Your employees are your front line,” Moak says. Most attacks begin with phishing emails that trick recipients into giving up credentials or sending money. Affordable security awareness training can teach employees how to spot these scams, and simulated phishing tests can help keep everyone sharp. “Training is very inexpensive compared to the price businesses pay when they’re hit,” Moak says. Use the tools you already have If you’re using Microsoft 365, as many businesses are, you likely already have access to built-in security features like Microsoft Defender and advanced login protection—but you have to configure them before they’ll be of any use. “They have to be configured internally,” Moak says. “That’s where having an IT partner can help.” Such a partner can help businesses enable and monitor those protections. Moak also recommends regularly backing up data, because if something does happen, you’ll be able to recover without having to pay a ransom. “You never want to have to pay the bad guys,” she says. Make security a leadership priority Cybersecurity is a leadership issue as much as it is an IT issue. “You can’t just have one employee whose job it is to say, ‘Hey, you need to do your training,’’’ Moak says. “It needs to come from the top.” That also means making sure your cyber insurance policy covers what you think it does. Many providers no longer cover social engineering scams—the kind where criminals impersonate executives or vendors to reroute payments. And don’t wait to plan your response: Create an incident response protocol that spells out exactly how you’ll recover from an attack, notify clients and meet any relevant compliance obligations. ...read more read less