Cybersecurity
10 Things Every Business Owner Can Do Today to Strengthen Their Cybersecurity
If your business doesn't yet have a dedicated IT department or managed technology services partner, these 10 practical steps can help you strengthen your cybersecurity and reduce your exposure to common threats.
Fortress Technology Services 4 min read
Cybersecurity isn't just a concern for large corporations. Small businesses face many of the same threats, including phishing scams, ransomware, stolen passwords, financial fraud, and data breaches.
Unfortunately, many business owners assume they're protected because they use Microsoft 365, have antivirus software installed, or store their files in the cloud.
Those are good starting points, but they're not enough on their own.
The good news? There are several practical, affordable things you can do to strengthen your business's security without hiring an IT professional.
We've put together this interactive 10-point checklist to help you get started.
Most of these improvements take less than an hour to begin, and several won't cost you anything.
Work through the checklist, check off each completed item, and start reducing your business's exposure to common cybersecurity threats.
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Step 1 of 10
1. Turn On Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Estimated time: 15–30 minutes
- Estimated cost: Free with many business applications
Think of multi-factor authentication as adding a second lock to your digital front door.
Even if someone steals your password, they typically cannot access your account without passing an additional security check.
What you can do:
Enable MFA on your business email, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, banking, accounting software, CRM, and other applications containing important information.
Use an authenticator app, passkey, or security key whenever available.
Don't stop with your own account. Make sure every employee has MFA enabled, especially anyone with administrative access.
Step 2 of 10
2. Start Using a Password Manager
- Estimated time: 30–60 minutes to get started
- Estimated cost: Free or low-cost options available
If you or your employees use the same password across multiple websites, you're creating an unnecessary security risk.
If one website suffers a breach, criminals may attempt to use those stolen credentials to access your business email, financial accounts, and other systems.
What you can do:
Choose a reputable password manager and begin replacing reused passwords with long, unique passwords.
Start with your most important accounts, including email, banking, accounting, and business administration.
A password manager makes it easier to securely organize credentials without keeping them in spreadsheets, notebooks, or email messages.
Step 3 of 10
3. Turn On Automatic Security Updates
- Estimated time: 10–20 minutes per device
- Estimated cost: Usually free
Those annoying software update notifications aren't always about new features. Many contain important security fixes.
Cybercriminals frequently exploit vulnerabilities in outdated operating systems, browsers, and applications.
What you can do:
Enable automatic security updates on business computers, smartphones, browsers, and regularly used applications.
Check whether your devices are running supported operating systems.
For example, standard Windows 10 support ended in October 2025. Businesses still using Windows 10 should upgrade, replace incompatible devices, or ensure they have appropriate Extended Security Updates coverage.
Keeping software current is one of the simplest ways to reduce preventable security risks.
Step 4 of 10
4. Create a Separate Backup of Your Business Data
- Estimated time: 30–90 minutes to get started
- Estimated cost: Usually requires a paid backup service
Here's a common misconception: "All our files are in Microsoft 365, so they're already backed up."
Not necessarily.
Cloud platforms provide important data protection and recovery capabilities, but cloud storage and file synchronization aren't the same as having an independent, recoverable backup.
If someone accidentally deletes critical files, a compromised account is used to destroy information, or ransomware encrypts synchronized files, recovery may depend on the protection and retention settings in place.
What you can do:
Identify where your business-critical information lives, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, local computers, and other cloud applications.
Choose a reputable backup solution that maintains separate, protected copies of your important data.
Look for automated backups, protected backup access, and the ability to restore previous versions.
Then test restoring a file.
Remember: A backup isn't much use if you can't recover your information when you need it.
Step 5 of 10
5. Make Sure Your Computers Have Security Protection Enabled
- Estimated time: 10 minutes per device
- Estimated cost: Often included with your operating system
You may already have antivirus and firewall protection installed without realizing it.
For example, supported Windows computers include Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Windows Firewall.
However, security software doesn't help if it's disabled, outdated, or reporting problems that nobody addresses.
What you can do:
On Windows, open Windows Security and verify that antivirus protection, the firewall, and security updates are active.
Mac users should review their built-in security and firewall settings.
If you see warnings or disabled protections, don't simply dismiss them. Investigate and correct the issue.
Basic antivirus protection is a starting point, not a substitute for professionally monitored cybersecurity.
Step 6 of 10
6. Remove Access for Former Employees
- Estimated time: 20–45 minutes
- Estimated cost: Free
When an employee leaves your business, does someone make sure they can no longer access company systems?
You might be surprised how often former employees retain access to email, shared files, CRM systems, and other business applications.
Even when nobody has malicious intentions, unnecessary access creates avoidable risk.
What you can do:
Review employee accounts in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, accounting software, CRM platforms, and other important applications.
Disable accounts that should no longer be active, remove unnecessary permissions, and revoke active sessions where supported.
Before permanently deleting an account, make sure you've preserved any business information your company needs.
Make this review part of your standard employee departure process.
Step 7 of 10
7. Establish a Simple Rule to Prevent Payment Fraud
- Estimated time: 15 minutes
- Estimated cost: Free
Imagine receiving an email from a familiar vendor asking you to send future payments to a new bank account.
The email looks legitimate. The signature is correct. The person even references a recent invoice.
Unfortunately, the message could be fraudulent.
Cybercriminals frequently impersonate vendors, executives, and employees to redirect business payments.
What you can do:
Establish one simple company rule:
Never change banking information or approve an unusual money transfer based solely on an email, text message, or incoming phone call.
Verify the request by calling the person or company using a trusted number already on file.
For significant payments, consider requiring approval from two authorized employees.
This simple business process can prevent substantial financial losses.
Step 8 of 10
8. Secure Your Business Wi-Fi Network
- Estimated time: 20–45 minutes
- Estimated cost: Usually free with existing equipment
Your business Wi-Fi provides access to the internet and may also connect computers, printers, and other devices.
Poorly secured wireless networks can create opportunities for unauthorized access.
What you can do:
Review your router's security settings.
Change any default administrator passwords, use WPA2-AES or WPA3 wireless encryption, and make sure your Wi-Fi password is strong and unique.
If customers or visitors use your Wi-Fi, create a separate guest network that doesn't provide access to business devices.
Also check for router firmware updates and disable unnecessary remote administration features.
If you're unfamiliar with these settings, follow your router manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Step 9 of 10
9. Require Automatic Screen Locks and Device Encryption
- Estimated time: 15–30 minutes per device
- Estimated cost: Usually included with supported devices
What happens if an employee leaves a laptop in a coffee shop or loses their phone?
If that device contains customer records, financial information, or saved business credentials, the consequences can extend far beyond replacing the equipment.
What you can do:
Configure business computers to automatically lock after a short period of inactivity.
Require passwords, PINs, or biometric authentication to unlock devices.
Enable built-in device encryption, such as BitLocker or Device Encryption on supported Windows computers and FileVault on Macs.
Make sure encryption recovery keys are stored securely.
These protections help reduce the risk of exposing business information when a device is lost or stolen.
Step 10 of 10
10. Teach Employees How to Recognize Suspicious Messages
- Estimated time: 15–20 minutes to get started
- Estimated cost: Free
Your employees interact with email, websites, attachments, and online applications throughout the day.
Unfortunately, criminals know this and frequently target employees through convincing phishing messages.
Artificial intelligence makes it easier to produce believable messages that appear to come from customers, vendors, or company executives.
What you can do:
Spend 15 minutes reviewing three simple rules with your team:
- Don't click unexpected links or open suspicious attachments without verifying the sender.
- Never provide passwords or approve unexpected MFA requests.
- If a message requests money, sensitive information, or urgent account changes, independently verify it.
Make sure employees know whom to notify if they receive something suspicious.
The goal isn't to turn your team into cybersecurity experts. It's to help everyone recognize when something doesn't seem right.
A Stronger Foundation Is Just the Beginning
Completing these ten steps can make a meaningful difference in reducing your business's exposure to common cybersecurity threats.
And the best part? Many of these improvements are free, inexpensive, or already available through the technology your business uses every day.
But there's an important distinction between improving your cybersecurity and having a professionally managed cybersecurity program.
Enabling MFA is important. Making sure every new employee has MFA enabled is an ongoing responsibility.
Setting up backups is important. Making sure they complete successfully every day and can be restored when needed is another responsibility.
Installing security software is important. Monitoring threats, investigating suspicious activity, and responding to potential attacks requires additional expertise.
Cybersecurity isn't something you set up once and forget about. It's something that needs to be maintained.
And that's where having a dedicated technology partner can make a significant difference.
Prefer to Have the Experts Handle It?
At Fortress Technology Services, we help businesses take a proactive, professionally managed approach to cybersecurity and technology.
Through our Fortress and Fortress Cloud managed technology services, we provide many of the same protections covered in this checklist—without requiring business owners to implement, monitor, and maintain everything themselves.
We Handle the Fundamentals for You
Password Management
We provide a business-grade password manager to help employees securely create, store, and manage passwords without relying on reused credentials or unsecured spreadsheets.
Multi-Factor Authentication
We help implement and enforce MFA across supported business applications, strengthening account security and reducing the risks associated with stolen passwords.
Automated Daily Backups
We provide managed daily backups of supported business data, including Microsoft 365, helping protect important information against accidental deletion, ransomware, and other incidents.
Security Updates and Patching
We manage operating system and application security updates across supported business devices, reducing exposure to known vulnerabilities.
Advanced Endpoint Protection
We provide security protection that goes beyond traditional antivirus software, including advanced threat detection and response capabilities.
User Access Management
We help manage employee onboarding, offboarding, account permissions, and access to business applications.
And We Go Well Beyond the Basics
AI-Powered Email and Anti-Phishing Protection
Our advanced email security technology uses artificial intelligence to help identify sophisticated phishing attempts, impersonation attacks, malicious links, and other email-based threats.
These additional protections help reduce the likelihood of employees encountering dangerous messages in the first place.
Monthly Phishing Simulations and Employee Training
We conduct monthly simulated phishing campaigns designed to test how employees respond to realistic cybersecurity threats.
These simulations help identify employees who click suspicious links or attempt to enter information into simulated phishing pages.
Employees who demonstrate risky behavior can automatically receive targeted cybersecurity awareness training.
This creates an ongoing cycle of testing, education, and improvement.
Business owners also gain visibility into employee security awareness through reporting that highlights areas requiring additional attention.
24/7 Security Monitoring and Threat Detection
Cybercriminals don't operate on a nine-to-five schedule.
Our managed cybersecurity approach includes around-the-clock security monitoring, managed detection and response, and security operations capabilities to help identify, investigate, and address suspicious activity.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
What happens if ransomware disrupts your operations, a critical system becomes unavailable, or a major technology failure brings your business to a halt?
We help businesses develop documented incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans so they are better prepared to respond to disruptions and recover critical operations.
These are specialized responsibilities that should be handled by experienced professionals—not left entirely to business owners or employees without the appropriate expertise.
Ongoing Cybersecurity and Technology Oversight
Your business changes. Employees come and go, devices are replaced, new applications are introduced, and new threats emerge.
We help businesses maintain and strengthen their technology environments through ongoing oversight, technology alignment, security assessments, and strategic planning.
Rather than simply installing security products, we focus on helping businesses keep their technology protected, organized, and aligned with their operational needs.
A More Secure Business Starts With Taking Action
You don't need to implement an entire cybersecurity program overnight.
Start with the ten actions above. Make the improvements you can today, involve your employees, and begin building better security habits throughout your organization.
And if you'd prefer to have experienced professionals handle these responsibilities, a managed technology services partner can provide additional protection, continuous oversight, and the expertise needed to address more complex cybersecurity challenges.
Fortress Technology Services helps businesses protect their technology, support their people, and operate with greater confidence.
Learn more about Fortress and Fortress Cloud managed technology services.
Want to talk through your technology priorities?
Start a conversation with Fortress Technology Services.
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