Episode 5 - Digital Door Locks - Keeping Your Business Safe Online

You lock your front door at night, but is your business data just as protected?

In this episode, I share why cybersecurity is a sustainability and business resilience issue every small business owner needs to take seriously. Through real-life stories I walk you through the six most common cyber threats and five essential “digital door locks” you can install, even if you don’t have an IT department.

🔐 What You’ll Learn

• Why 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses
• Six common digital threats, from phishing emails to insider risks
• Five cybersecurity basics you can implement without an IT team
• How to start building a cyber incident response plan
• The connection between cybersecurity and your business continuity plan

✅ This Week’s Quick Action Checklist

• Identify your 3 most sensitive digital tools
• Test a file backup (don’t just assume it’s working!)
• Enable multi-factor authentication on one key account
• Have a 10-minute team huddle about phishing emails
• Pick a Cybersecurity Champion on your team

🎧 Don’t Miss This If…
... you’ve ever thought, “We’re too small to be targeted.” Or if your customer data, orders, or supplier portals live online, which they probably do.

💌 Questions? Feedback? Ready to build your plan with a guide by your side?
Reach out at anca@3pimpactconsulting.com - I’d love to hear from you.

🎧 Listen now - and take the first step toward a more resilient business.

I am the founder of 3P Impact Consulting and I help small businesses build long-term resilience through sustainable practices. I adapt tools used by big corporations to fit the reality of purpose-driven small business owners - so they can grow with confidence, even in uncertain times. 

💻 Learn more about my work at www.3pimpactconsulting.com/services
📬 Subscribe to my blog and newsletter at www.3pimpactconsulting.com/resources

Transcript

Episode 5 Script: "Digital Door Locks - Keeping Your Business Safe Online"

Hello and welcome back. Today’s episode is “Digital door locks - Keeping your business safe online”. We're talking about something that might not seem like a sustainability issue at first, but trust me, it absolutely is.

Let me start with a story. Last year, I was talking with a small food manufacturer, Clara. She was saying to me, "We're too small for hackers to care about us. What would they want with our hot sauce recipes?"

Well, one Tuesday morning, she walked into her office to find her computer screen frozen with a message demanding $5,000 in Bitcoin to unlock her files. All of them. Customer orders, supplier contracts, even her proprietary recipes - everything was encrypted. The hackers didn't care that she was small. In fact, that's exactly why they targeted her.

My husband works in IT, and I've watched him deal with similar scenarios too many times. I've seen the phone calls from panicked business owners, the stress of trying to recover systems under pressure, and the heartbreak when businesses lose weeks or months of work because they weren't prepared. 

Cyber threats cut across ALL of the areas. They're not just an IT problem, they're a business resilience problem. When Clara's systems were locked, she couldn't fulfill orders, couldn't communicate with customers, and definitely couldn't maintain the trust she'd built with her stakeholders.

So today, we're talking about digital door locks. Think of this as installing security systems for your business data and online operations. Because if we're going to build sustainable, resilient businesses, we need to protect them in the digital world too.

[What We'll Cover Today] 

Before we dive in, let me tell you what we're going to cover in the next 20 minutes. First, we'll bust some dangerous myths about why small businesses get targeted by hackers. Then we'll walk through six main cyber threats you need to know about, explained in plain language with examples from businesses just like yours.

Next, I'll give you five essential "digital door locks" you can implement even without a dedicated IT team; these are practical steps that won't overwhelm you or your budget. We'll also talk about how cybersecurity fits into the business continuity planning we discussed in Episode 2, and I'll give you a simple 30-60-90 day plan to get started.

Finally, I'll share some immediate action steps you can take this week, plus common pitfalls to avoid. By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear roadmap for protecting your business in the digital world.

[Why Cybersecurity Matters for Small Businesses]

Let's start by busting this myth: "We're too small to be targeted."

Here's the reality - 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses. Not large corporations. Small businesses. Why? Because the big companies already have security teams and protocols in place.

There are three main reasons why small businesses are targeted:

1. First, you're often easier targets. Large companies have entire IT departments and million-dollar security budgets. You probably don't. Hackers know this, and they go for the path of least resistance. Some attacks could be prevented with basic password policies that would take 10 minutes to implement.
2. Second, you're connected to larger supply chains. Maybe you provide ingredients to a big restaurant chain, or you manufacture components for a larger company. Hackers use small businesses as a backdoor to get to these bigger targets. This happens a lot - a small supplier gets compromised, and suddenly the hackers have access to a major corporation's systems.
3. And third, you handle valuable data but have fewer resources to protect it. Your customer lists, payment information, proprietary recipes or manufacturing processes - these are all worth money to the right criminal.

So what does a cyber attack actually cost? I'm not just talking about the ransom payment. I'm talking about the real business impact.

Let's say you run a bakery, and your point-of-sale system gets hacked. You lose a week of transaction data right before your busy holiday season. Customers start seeing suspicious charges on their credit cards after shopping with you. Not only do you lose immediate revenue from downtime, but you lose something harder to rebuild - customer trust and loyalty.

Or imagine you're a small manufacturer, and your production planning software gets locked by ransomware. Your entire production line stops. You can't fulfill orders. You're scrambling to communicate with customers and suppliers while trying to figure out how to get back online. The operational continuity we talked about in our business continuity episode? Gone.

And here's something many small business owners don't think about - compliance issues. If you handle customer payment data and it gets breached, you could face regulatory penalties on top of everything else. The financial stability you've worked so hard to build can disappear quickly.

Remember in Episode 3 when we talked about that heat risk map? Cyber risks are typically high-impact, medium-likelihood events. They belong in your red zone - the area that needs immediate attention. And they absolutely should be integrated into the business continuity plan we discussed in Episode 2.

[What Are the Main Cyber Risks Small Businesses Face?] 

Alright, let's break down the main threats you need to know about. 

First up: Phishing emails. These are fake emails designed to trick your employees into giving away passwords or clicking malicious links. They've gotten really sophisticated. These are by far the most common way businesses get compromised.

Here's an example: your office manager gets an email that looks like it's from your ingredient supplier. The logo looks right, the email address seems close enough. It says, "We're updating our systems. Please click here to verify your account details." Your manager clicks, enters the login information for your supplier portal, and boom - hackers now have access to your orders, pricing, maybe even your payment information.

Second: Ransomware. This is what happened to Clara in my opening story. Malicious software locks all your files until you pay a ransom. Imagine your bakery's point-of-sale system, inventory management, and customer database all frozen on your busiest weekend. You can't process sales, you don't know what inventory you have, and you can't contact customers to explain what's happening.

Third: Data breaches. This is when sensitive information gets stolen: customer credit card details, proprietary recipes, supplier contracts. For a food business, this might mean customer health records if you cater to people with allergies. For a manufacturer, it could be your CAD files or customer lists.

Fourth: Third-party or supply chain risk. Remember in Episode 3 when we talked about supply chain dependencies? Well, this is the digital version. Your business gets impacted because a supplier or software vendor gets hacked. Maybe you use cloud-based inventory software that gets compromised, and suddenly you lose access to all your production data. 

Fifth: Human error. This is also a very common cause of security problems. Weak passwords, unsecured WiFi, no backups, or employees accidentally sharing sensitive information. Your production manager uses "Password123" for both their personal Facebook or Instagram account and your business systems. When their personal account gets hacked, guess what happens next?

And sixth: Insider threats and employee access issues. Sometimes the threat comes from inside your own business. This could be a disgruntled employee who deletes important files before they quit, or someone who intentionally shares sensitive information with competitors. Or maybe you forgot to remove system access when someone left, and months later you discover they still have login credentials to your inventory system. 

[How to Get Started: 5 Essential "Digital Door Locks”]

Okay, enough doom and gloom. Let's talk about what you can actually do about this. I'm going to give you five essential steps that even businesses without dedicated IT teams can implement. 

Think of these as installing basic security systems; you don't need to become a cybersecurity expert overnight.

1. Educate Your Team - Build Your "Human Firewall"
Your employees are your first line of defense, but they're also your biggest vulnerability. Most cyber attacks succeed because they trick people, not because they break through fancy technical defenses. 

Here's the good news: basic security awareness doesn't require expensive training programs. Start with monthly 10-minute team discussions. Show them examples of current scams. Talk about how to recognize phishing emails, things like urgent language, requests for personal information, or links that don't match the supposed sender.

Make it relevant to your business. If you're in food manufacturing, show them what a fake email from a supplier might look like. If you're in retail, discuss how scammers might impersonate your point of sale software provider.

And create a culture where people feel safe reporting suspicious emails or potential problems. Your team should know that saying "this email looks weird" is always better than clicking first and asking questions later. 

Action step for this week: Share one recent phishing example with your team. There are tons of them on cybersecurity websites. Make it a 5-minute conversation during your next team meeting.

2. Strengthen Passwords & Access Control
I know, I know. Everyone talks about passwords. But here's why it matters: weak passwords are like leaving your front door unlocked and posting a sign that says "valuables inside." 

First, use a password manager. These tools generate strong, unique passwords for every account and remember them for you. Popular options include LastPass, 1Password (yes, they cost a little money, but they're cheaper than a cyber attack).

Second, enable multi-factor authentication, MFA, wherever possible. This is like having both a key AND a security code to enter your building. Even if someone steals your password, they can't get in without the second factor, usually a code on your authenticator app, or sent to your phone.

Start with your most critical accounts: business email, banking, your main supplier portals, and any cloud storage you use.

Third, limit access. Not everyone needs access to everything. Your part-time packaging employee probably doesn't need access to financial systems. Your bookkeeper probably doesn't need access to production planning software. Give people access only to what they need for their job.

Action step for this week: Enable multi-factor authentication on your business email and one financial account. Most systems make this really easy now, it usually takes less than five minutes.

3. Back Up Your Data Religiously
Here's a simple rule: if you can't afford to lose it, you better have at least three copies of it.

The best practice is called the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of important data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy stored offsite.

In practical terms, this might mean your original files on your computer, an automatic backup to an external drive, and another automatic backup to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Set up automated daily or weekly backups and, this is crucial, test them regularly. A backup you can't restore is worthless. Once a month, pick a random file and make sure you can actually get it back from your backup. I can't tell you how many times my husband has seen businesses discover their backups weren't working when they needed them.

Remember in Episode 2 when we talked about business continuity planning? Backups are your digital insurance policy. If ransomware locks your files, good backups mean you can restore everything and keep running without paying the ransom.

Action step for this week: Test one backup restore. Pick a file, pretend it's been deleted, and see if you can get it back from your backup system.

4. Keep Software Updated & Secure
Software updates often include security fixes for vulnerabilities that hackers know about. 

Enable automatic updates wherever possible on your computers, your phones, your business software. Yes, sometimes updates can be annoying, but running outdated software is like leaving windows open in a thunderstorm.

Also, secure your WiFi network. Change the default password on your router, use WPA3 encryption if available, and consider having a separate guest network for visitors. You'd be surprised how many businesses are still using default passwords on their networking equipment.

Action step for this week: Set up automatic updates on your three most critical business systems. If you're not sure how, ask someone tech-savvy on your team or call your IT support person (or ask me if my husband can help :).

5. Create a Cyber Incident Response Plan
Just like the business continuity plan we discussed in Episode 2, you need a simple plan for what to do if something goes wrong. 

This should include three things: who to call, how to communicate, and how to restore operations.

Who to call: Do you have IT support? Have this contact ready and accessible, not just stored on the computer that might be locked.

How to communicate: Have templates ready for notifying customers, suppliers, and employees. In a crisis, you don't want to waste time figuring out what to say or how to say it professionally.

How to restore operations: Document your backup procedures, list alternative systems you could use temporarily, and identify which functions are most critical to keep running.

Action step for this week: Make copies of this plan and keep them offline, printed on paper and stored somewhere accessible. When your computers are locked, your digital plan isn't much help.

[Red Flags and Your 30-60-90 Day Plan]

Let's talk about warning signs that something might be wrong. These are things you or your team should watch for:

Computers running slower than usual, especially if multiple machines are affected. Unusual network activity - maybe your internet seems slower or your data usage has spiked. Employees receiving more suspicious emails than normal. Unexpected software installations or changes to computer settings. Account lockouts or password reset requests that no one initiated.

If you notice any of these, don't panic, but take them seriously. Disconnect affected computers from the network, change relevant passwords, and contact your IT support. Quick action can often prevent a small problem from becoming a big disaster.

Now, let's make this manageable with a simple timeline:

• In the next 30 days: Do a password audit. Change any weak or shared passwords. Enable multi-factor authentication on critical accounts. Have a basic team awareness session about phishing emails.
• In the next 60 days: Test your backup systems thoroughly. Have conversations with your key vendors about their security practices. Draft a simple cyber incident response plan.
• In the next 90 days: Conduct a full security review. Consider more advanced training for your team.

The key is to start somewhere and build from there. You don't have to do everything at once. Perfect security doesn't exist, but better security is always possible.

[Small Steps This Week - Your Immediate Action Plan]

You may be thinking ‘Anca, I wish there was a list of what I can do right now. You gave me a few actions for this week, and then a 30/60/90 day guidance, but do you have a comprehensive list with what I can do NOW?’

Glad you asked - I actually do. Here's your do-this-week checklist:

1. First: Identify your three most sensitive digital tools. This might be your point-of-sale system, your business email, and your main supplier portal. These are your highest priorities for security.
2. Second: Confirm you have backups and know how to access them. Don't just assume they're working - actually test one file restore.
3. Third: Choose one team member to be your "Cyber Security Champion". This person doesn't need to be a tech expert, just someone who can help keep security top of mind and remind people about best practices.
4. Fourth: Enable multi-factor authentication on one critical business account. Start with your business email if you haven't already.
5. Fifth: Have a 10-minute team discussion about recognizing phishing emails. Show them a real example and talk about red flags to watch for.

None of these tasks should take more than 30 minutes, but together they'll significantly improve your security posture.

[Common Pitfalls to Avoid] 

Before we wrap up, let me warn you about some common mistakes small businesses make.

1. First, don't overcomplicate this. You don't need to become a cybersecurity expert overnight. Start with basics and build from there.
2. Second, avoid all-or-nothing thinking. Perfect security doesn't exist, but good-enough security absolutely does. The goal is to make yourself a harder target.
3. Third, don't forget about mobile devices. Your business phones and tablets are computers too. They need the same security attention as your desktop computers.
4. And finally, don't ignore the human element. Technology is only as secure as the people using it.

[What We Covered Today & Call to Action]

Let me recap what we covered today because I know that was a lot of information.

We started by busting the myth that small businesses are too small to be targeted; in fact, 43% of cyberattacks target businesses just like yours. We walked through the six main cyber threats: phishing emails, ransomware, data breaches, third-party risks, human error, and insider threats.

Then I gave you five essential "digital door locks": educating your team, strengthening passwords and access control, backing up your data religiously, keeping software updated, and creating a cyber incident response plan.

We talked about how cybersecurity fits into your business continuity planning, and I shared a 30-60-90 day timeline to make this manageable. Finally, I gave you five specific action steps you can take this week.

Here’s my call to action for you: don't let this episode just be information you consumed. Pick ONE action item from today's list and commit to getting it done in the next 2 days. Maybe it's enabling multi-factor authentication on your business email. Maybe it's having that 10-minute conversation with your team about phishing emails. Or maybe it's simply testing one backup restore.

And if you want all of this organized in one place, reach out to me for a free Cybersecurity Starter Checklist. It'll walk you through everything we discussed today in a simple, step-by-step format that you can use to track your progress.
The point is to start somewhere. 

[Closing & Next Episode Preview]

Remember Clara and her hot sauce company from the beginning? She rebuilt stronger. She implemented many of the practices we talked about today. When a smaller cyber incident happened months later, a phishing email that one employee almost fell for, her team caught it, reported it, and nothing happened. Because they were prepared.

That's what I want for your business. Not just survival, but strength. Not just protection, but confidence.

Now, speaking of trust and protection, there's another area where your business depends on others to help you succeed: your suppliers and vendors. And that brings us perfectly to our next episode.

Next time, we're diving into supplier relationships and vendor management in Episode 6: "Are Your Suppliers Helping or Hurting You?" Your business depends on other businesses - are they reliable? Are they helping you achieve your goals, or are they creating risks you don't even know about?

We'll explore how to use a simple supplier scorecard to assess risks, strengthen partnerships, and make sure your vendors support your values and resilience goals. Because just like cybersecurity, your business is only as strong as your weakest link, and sometimes that link is a supplier you trust but haven't properly evaluated.

Until then, pick one cybersecurity action item from today's list and get it done in 2 days. Small steps lead to big impact, and resilience isn't just about surviving, it's about thriving.

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.