Three Cybersecurity Risks I See Over and Over When Helping Small Businesses

When people hear the word cyberattacks, they often picture hackers in hoodies targeting only large corporations or government agencies because that is where the money is.

That leads many small business owners to believe they’re too small to attract attention.

But the truth is that most cyberattacks today aren’t that personal.

They’re automated.

Attackers run automatic scanning tools across the internet looking for weak points. If a vulnerability appears, either for a Fortune 500 company or for a solopreneur, the system gets flagged as a potential target.

While working at SBN Solutions over the years, I’ve noticed the same few issues appear repeatedly when evaluating a company’s security posture.

Three stand out.

1. Email Spoofing Because DMARC Isn’t Configured

One of the most common problems I encounter is that a business email domain can be impersonated.

Without proper authentication in place, someone can send an email that appears to come from your company, even if they never accessed your mailbox.

For example, an attacker could send a message that looks like it came from:

owner@yourcompany.com

To a customer or vendor, that email may look completely legitimate.

This type of attack is called email spoofing, and it’s commonly used in business email compromise scams, fraudulent invoice requests, and phishing campaigns.

The solution is implementing proper email authentication through:

- SPF

- DKIM

- DMARC

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) tells receiving mail servers how to handle messages that fail authentication checks.

Once fully enforced with a reject policy, spoofed emails claiming to come from your domain can be blocked before they ever reach the recipient.

Another major advantage is that DMARC reports provide visibility. They show:

- What systems are sending email from your domain

- Whether those messages pass authentication

- Whether spoofing attempts are occurring

Many businesses are surprised by what those reports reveal.

2. Exposed Remote Access and VPN Services

Another issue I frequently see when reviewing networks is remote access exposed directly to the internet.

This might include:

- Exposed VPN portals

- Remote desktop services

- Poorly configured firewall rules

Attackers routinely scan the internet for these services. When one is found, they attempt:

- Password-guessing attacks

- Credential stuffing

- Exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities

Even when a VPN is properly configured, exposing it directly to the internet can create unnecessary risk.

Because of this, many organizations are moving toward Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions.

Instead of exposing the network and requiring users to connect to it, ZTNA tools allow users to connect only to the specific resources they’re authorized to access.

One example of this approach is Twingate, which allows businesses to provide secure resource access without opening inbound ports to the internet.

This significantly reduces the attack surface.

3. Malicious Attachments That Antivirus Doesn’t Detect

The third issue I see regularly involves malicious attachments or links that bypass traditional antivirus software.

Many people assume that if a file downloads and antivirus does not alert them, it must be safe.

Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.

Attackers frequently use techniques that allow malicious files to appear clean initially, including:

- New malware variants not yet detected by antivirus signatures

- Embedded scripts or macros

- Staged downloads that only activate later

Because of this, relying solely on antivirus can create a false sense of security.

If a business does not have an EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) solution monitoring behavior on systems, an additional precaution can be to analyze suspicious files before opening them.

Tools such as VirusTotal allow users to upload files or URLs and have them scanned by dozens of security engines simultaneously.

While this isn’t a replacement for proper endpoint protection, it can provide an additional layer of verification before interacting with something suspicious.

The Bigger Picture

Cybersecurity is rarely about one single tool or product. Most incidents occur because of a chain of small weaknesses:

- A spoofed email that looks legitimate

- A remote access service exposed to the internet

- A user opening a malicious attachment

Individually, each issue may seem minor. Together, they create opportunities attackers can exploit.

The good news is that many of these risks can be reduced with practical steps such as:

- Implementing DMARC to prevent domain impersonation. Use our Domain Protection Tool to see if your domain is secure from email spoofing.

- Securing remote access or moving toward zero-trust solutions using tools like Twingate.

- Educating users about suspicious attachments and verifying files before opening them by using open-source tools like VirusTotal.

Cybersecurity doesn’t need to be overwhelming. But it does require awareness and intentional configuration of the systems businesses rely on every day.

And for most small businesses, addressing these three areas is a strong place to start.