Cyberattacks don’t care about your company's size. Credentials, endpoints, unpatched systems, and access points are all fair game. Here are some of the key risks: 

• Data breaches: Credit card numbers, customer PII, proprietary data, and contracts are all perfect targets.

• Downtime: Ransomware can take you offline in minutes. The downtime and cleanup can take days, even weeks.

• Compliance fines: If you work with PII, PHI, PCI, or other financial and personal data, failure to secure it will cost you.

• Reputation damage: Once a breach hits, your reputation could take years to recover. 

The takeaway? You need to focus on identity, access management, endpoints, and modern threat detection and response.

Cybersecurity for small businesses is a set of practices, processes, and tools that keep your organization protected from cyber threats and attacks. Threats include everything from phishing scams to employee insider threats, to sophisticated malware, and ransomware. 

It typically consists of: 

• Preventative controls: Firewalls, antivirus software, VPNs, and policies. 

• Detection: Managed detection and response services and tools. 

• Recovery: Backups, plans, and processes to minimize damage and get back to business after an incident. 

VPN abuse accounts for 43% of identity-related security incidents. 
~ Huntress Managed ITDR Report, 2025

Endpoint security for small businesses 

Endpoints are network-connected devices like laptops, mobile phones, servers, and other network access points. As a result, they’re a common attack vector. 

Endpoint security for small businesses is all about tools that: 

• Monitor for and block suspicious activity.

• Block ransomware and malware attempts. 

• Detect sophisticated threats in real time.

 
Huntress Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) delivers enterprise-grade cybersecurity with  24/7 expert-backed detection and response for businesses of all sizes. 

Managed security services for small businesses 

Many small businesses don’t have the resources or budget to hire and staff their own IT security team. Managed security services for small businesses help fill that gap, and they generally consist of an outsourced SOC (Security Operations Center). 

Managed cybersecurity service providers like Huntress provide 24/7 endpoint monitoring, remediation, and compliance assistance. We handle threat detection and response so you don’t have to hire and train a team of full-time analysts to do it. 

Perfect for: 

• Healthcare clinics and hospitals with HIPAA requirements.

• Retail businesses with cardholder data flow. 

• Startups that need to scale quickly but lack an in-house IT staff.

Firewalls and secure Wi-Fi 

A good business-grade firewall prevents unauthorized network access. Combine it with secure, segmented Wi-Fi networks (yes, you need a separate guest network) and you take down common attack vectors. 

Features to look for: 

• Next-gen firewall with IDS/IPS.

• Automatic firmware updates.

• Remote configuration and logging. 

Employee security awareness training 

Number one weak spot? People. Reducing your human risk with phishing awareness and password hygiene makes a big difference. Bite-sized, contextualized security awareness training delivered at regular intervals will reduce click rates and reporting times. 

Security awareness training can help organizations convert their current IT employees into cybersecurity pros with an intimate understanding of the organization's systems and processes. On average, upskilling and reskilling retained employees saved businesses $259,000 USD, a 2024 IBM report found. Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training (SAT) uses behavior-based training modules to drive measurable improvements.  

Get more in Huntress’s Ultimate Small Business Cybersecurity Checklist.

Cybersecurity for small businesses doesn’t require an enterprise budget. The price can vary based on the company’s size, industry, and current IT infrastructure. Here are some of the main costs to consider

• Small businesses of less than 50 Employees: $5,000 to $50,000 per year.

• Cost Per Employee: Approximately $2,500 to $2,800 for full cybersecurity protection. 

Keep in mind, these are average numbers. Every business is different, and your needs may be higher or lower.  The good news is that most of these prices scale with you as you grow. 

Better news: They’re just a drop in the bucket compared to what SMBs typically spend on data breaches. Smaller organizations with fewer than 500 employees were the only businesses to see their average impact per data breach grow in cost, from $2.92 million to $3.31 million, up 13.4%.

While every small business cybersecurity solution has its place, it’s worth asking: 

• Do they specialize in small business environments and infrastructure?

• Is the solution easy to set up and scale?

• Managed support or DIY?

• Do they offer real-time threat detection and response? 

• Do they help you meet your industry’s compliance standards? 

Check out G2’s ITDR category to see Huntress as a top-ranked small business cybersecurity vendor across ease of use, customer support, and ROI.

Small and midsize businesses are the top focus for Huntress when it comes to building products and support teams. Huntress Managed EDR was built specifically to be affordable and easy to use. No overly complex dashboards. No intimidating security jargon. Just modern security that works. 

Check out Huntress Managed EDR for yourself and start small business cybersecurity today.