The 4 Scariest IT Fears for Small-Business Owners Make sure your business is as protected as possible from the risks that can do real harm.

Even as technology continues to permeate every business function and virtually everything we do, many small-business owners think their operations are simply too small to be the target of cybercrime. As it turns out, that isn't the case. Research shows that small- and medium-size businesses are at a high risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.

These risks are increased now with the surge of hybrid work and the lack of security preparation. Many people wrongly believe that employees are just as protected at home as they are in the office. A different physical workspace needs different physical security. Implementing uniform security practices can be difficult, but not impossible.

"Attacks are inevitable. Breaches are not," says Kurt Roemer, Chief Security Strategist at Citrix. "Everyone needs to work together to make sure we're thwarting breaches in the most effective ways."

A lack of focus on cybersecurity leaves your small business open to scary attacks with even more frightening results. Here are four scenarios that should leave you shaking in your boots—that is, unless you take the proper steps to secure against them.

1. Losing money.

By 2025, cybercrime is predicted to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually. That's huge. Cybercrime can include phishing schemes, ransomware, and stolen credentials, just to name a few. All are designed to take money and other valuable information from your small business.

Losses from ransomware, specifically—malware that infects devices and restricts a company's access to files and other valuable information until a ransom is paid—were projected to surpass $20 billion this year. According to a report, more than a third of businesses paid a ransom between $350,000 and $1.4 million.

"Ransomware is very pervasive. It hits tech as well as the business," Roemer says. He warns that entry points include social engineering, poor credentials, a lack of patching and convenient but vulnerable apps, plugins and other extensions that increase your likelihood of being hacked. Roemer recommends that businesses (and individuals) review the security around these practices and tools frequently.

With Citrix Workspace, key security measures are built in. Citrix Secure Internet Access, for instance, helps keep tabs on end user activity, alerting IT in real time when someone visits a suspicious site or is engaging in atypical behavior. And since sensitive company information is stored in protected data centers and clouds, it stays safe even if an individual's device becomes compromised.

2. Employees becoming your biggest liability.

As the workforce becomes more distributed, allowing or expecting employees to directly access valuable, sensitive business data from personal devices can be a major security risk. One report says less than a third of companies are providing at least some employees with laptops when working away from the office.

And as more business apps are delivered from the cloud, traditional security architectures that require network appliance-based solutions—including VPN, SWG, DLP controls and WAF—don't protect against modern-day threats coming from employees who don't use your applications and networks. "You used to be able to focus on managing devices across trusted networks," Roemer says. "Today, you need to be able to manage devices across all types of networks, locations, and delivery methods."

This is why many businesses take what's called a Zero Trust approach to security. IT departments proactively create safeguards assuming end users will eventually experience a security-related issue regardless of policies and how well they may be communicated.

One way a Citrix Workspace strengthens end user security is via Citrix Secure Private Access. It uses adaptive access policies based on user identity, location, and device so IT can continually monitor end user activity and protect against threats of unauthorized login from personal devices.

3. Passwords being cracked or stolen.

With employees navigating a multitude of work apps, trying to remember so many passwords across multiple devices can be downright overwhelming. While employees may be tempted to use 123456 as their password for every application, doing so leaves valuable work data vulnerable to people who mean to do your business harm.

So, while encouraging complex password security is better than no security, wouldn't it be better to eliminate passwords altogether? With a centralized Citrix Workspace, that's what you get. Instead of employees moving between individual apps, they have a single sign-on with Citrix where they have access to all their IT-approved apps. It creates a more secure and easier to navigate environment for employees.

4. Partners becoming compromised, exposing you to risk.

As a business owner, you can and should take every smart step to safeguard against cybercrime. But what happens when a partner you do business with, that has access to your sensitive company or customer data, gets hacked? Your business is in big trouble, that's what.

"Have conversations between IT and lines of business, supply chain, and other partners, and work together to identify gaps in terms of security measures and practices," Roemer recommends. "Make sure that remote access to and from supply chain partners and any info that's shared is protected throughout the information lifecycle."

Bottom line, everyone from end users to partners should be able to interact with information and know that it's reliable, available, and private. But cybersecurity is an always evolving discipline, Roemer says. Protecting against cybercrime is a shared responsibility that requires constant awareness and action.

Click here to find out how Citrix can help put your biggest IT fears to rest.