Cybersecurity threats are escalating, yet many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) remain dangerously unprotected. Experts point to a combination of high costs, technical complexity, and a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals as key reasons why SMBs often delay or avoid adopting critical protections. Even businesses willing to invest face challenges navigating a crowded and confusing marketplace of tools and services. This lack of preparedness has made SMBs increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals seeking easy access to valuable data and networks. In September, the FBI, with intelligence support from cybersecurity researchers, disrupted a major Chinese botnet that infected more than 200,000 consumer devices worldwide — a reminder of how rapidly cyberthreats are evolving. Attacks against businesses of all sizes, including SMBs, have surged in recent years, increasing the stakes for those without strong defenses. Several factors have contributed to the growing cybersecurity risks facing SMBs. The swift transition to remote work expanded the number of attack surfaces. Digital transformation efforts and large-scale cloud service adoption by smaller firms have also created larger security gaps. Increased reliance on third-party vendors and supply chains has further amplified these vulnerabilities, observed Jerry Chen, former Cisco engineer and co-founder of cybersecurity firm Firewalla. “The uptick in attacks against SMBs is part of a broader trend where cybercriminals focus on relatively unprotected devices to build large-scale botnets capable of launching distributed denial-of-service [DDoS] attacks,” he told TechNewsWorld. Cyberattacks Against SMBs Surge Chen noted that small business networks are desirable targets for attackers because they are especially vulnerable. They often lack the budget to protect themselves with effective security tools and the resources to hire appropriate cybersecurity talent. Protection tradeoffs are a necessary reality for SMBs, he noted. Smaller businesses can’t have the same cybersecurity measures as enterprises. Those systems are costly and cannot be operated without an IT team to manage them. SMBs need cost-effective solutions that bring visibility to their networks. That means a solution that can always alert them to how many devices are on their network, what they are doing, and whether they are transferring any sensitive data. “Maintaining this kind of vigilance is the only way to know if there is any risk,” Chen asserted. Steve Garrison, SVP of marketing at Stellar Cyber, agrees that hackers realize there are millions of companies in the SMB and mid-market small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) space. “There is less sophistication in terms of cyber awareness in the SMB space. So bad people are just starting to cash in on it,” he told TechNewsWorld. It’s a numbers game, and it’s easier than ever for hackers to use your devices as a door to get your or the company’s personal information. Nobody provides a desktop phone anymore, Garrison noted. SMBs Struggle With Outdated Cyber Tools When businesses struggle with cyber resources, they often adopt outdated technology or basic security measures that leave them vulnerable. Most small business operators do not know how to implement best practices. “This can lead to misconfigurations, weak passwords, unpatched software, or poor incident response planning, all of which increase the risk of a breach,” said Chen. This situation plays directly into hackers’ hands. Cybercriminals are conscious of all these factors and target small businesses precisely because they are seen as easy targets. “Small businesses may not believe they are at risk. The ‘it won’t happen to me’ mindset makes them less likely to adopt strong defenses or even implement basic security measures,” Chen offered. “For them, the best solution is making use of tools that are within their budget, effective, and also very simple to work with.” For example, SMBs can use a firewall device that provides comprehensive visibility of the devices operating within their network, their continuously updated activity, and gives them the ability to manage and group them. Not an outdated cyber tool, firewalls with those features can be a good stopgap measure. Basic Cybersecurity Practices for SMBs Chen added that budgetary deficiencies and absent IT workers do not mean companies are defenseless. A system scan tool can investigate the security of an SMB’s network for commonly used ports and vulnerabilities. “An effective scan tool will detect issues such as services that do not have password protection or services that may have a default password or a common password that would be simple for a hacker to guess,” he said. Many SMBs fail to take other basic security steps. On the network visibility side, they should set up controls or rules within their network, such as segmenting essential devices, like work laptops and security cameras, from less critical ones, like personal phones and guest devices. They should also consider isolating IoT devices, which are common points of entry for hackers, to reduce the risk of security breaches or applying an extra layer of protection to guest devices. Other steps include blocking traffic from certain countries, geographic regions, and dangerous websites from accessing the network. Two basic systems help with these tasks: Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) monitor network traffic and alert administrators to suspicious activity, vulnerabilities, or policy violations, but they do not block threats directly. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) detect and automatically block malicious traffic in real time, preventing harmful connections from reaching the network or causing damage. Combining IDS and IPS strengthens network security by pairing real-time alerts with automatic threat blocking, minimizing risks without heavy hands-on management. “On the device side, SMBs should always make sure that they have the latest firmware updates and fixes ready to implement and use devices that are actively supported by their manufacturers,” Chen urged. Hidden Cybersecurity Features SMBs Can Leverage Some cybersecurity features are built into platforms but may not be evident to buyers. Communications and networking platforms may already have built-in cyber protections, eliminating the need to add third-party software, noted Stellar Cyber’s Garrison. Its Open XDR platform is a good example. The company does not market to individual SMBs. It delivers cyber protection through platform providers. XDR (Extended Detection and Response) systems are evolving technologies that unify threat prevention, detection, and response capabilities. According to Garrison, Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR emphasizes open functionality rather than relying solely on open-source components. It uses a combination of open hooks, webhooks, APIs, connectors, and parsers to link tools the customer has already purchased to ingest companies’ data and fill in the rest of the attack surface for what they do not have. “It’s a one-size-fits-all platform,” he added. “It is a different strategy than your larger [cyber] companies would offer. So it’s another way we go to market to make it more amenable to adopt the technology.” Affordable Next-Gen Firewalls for SMBs Firewalla offers a series of enhanced firewall and router devices designed to protect networks and devices at home and at work. One of the newer models, the Firewalla Gold Pro, can route and inspect network traffic at 10-gigabit speeds and supports Wi-Fi 7, making it well-suited for the fastest networks in small businesses and homes. The Firewalla Gold Pro is a multi-gigabit firewall that is easy to install, simple to use, and requires no monthly fees. It is operated through a smartphone app with various features, such as a vulnerability scanner, an IDS/IPS system to detect and block unauthorized access attempts, and tools for managing and grouping connected devices across the network. Chen said the Firewalla Gold Pro provides the same high-quality performance as enterprise-level security solutions but offers more value due to its cost-effectiveness and technical accessibility. “It is ideal for not only SMBs looking to gain basic visibility, control, and protection of their networks but also for SMBs upgrading their infrastructures and adopting next-generation networks like Wi-Fi 7 for faster speeds,” he added. The Firewalla Gold Pro device is powered by a quad-core Intel processor and 8 gigabytes of RAM, allowing it to scale with growing network demands. Its 10-gigabit ports can be configured for wide-area networks (WANs) or local area networks (LANs). Users can segment traffic using virtual local area networks (VLANs), separating devices into groups for better management and security, all operating at full 10-gigabit speeds. One port can connect to a 10-gigabit Wi-Fi 7 access point and another to a high-speed switch.