According to statistics, SMBs spend an average of 12% on their IT infrastructure, which includes its configuration, updation, maintenance, and security. It's obvious that small and medium-scale firms have to spend more on marketing, as they need to make their space in the market.

To help such organizations maintain their cyber-hygiene, here are listed some affordable cybersecurity solutions. And it’s expected that these strategies will be covered in the current investment for data security.

So, let’s get started and have a look.

How To Find Budget-Friendly Cybersecurity Strategies

Finding inexpensive cybersecurity solutions is a task when every company is marketing their expensive tools only. However, with the following approaches, you can efficiently find a lot of budget-friendly solutions, tips, tricks, and more.

• Seek recommendations from security professionals' blogs, articles, and even podcasts.
• Ask the sales representative of the companies to provide you with discounts.
• Analyze the available tools for their price and functionality. It will assuredly help you find the right one within cost constraints.
• You can ask for suggestions on digital platforms, such as LinkedIn.

What are the Top Affordable Cybersecurity Solutions

Following are the top five budget-friendly cybersecurity strategies and solutions that an SME or any other organization can opt for to save cost and secure data.

#1:Train the Stakeholders from Day Zero

Training is considered one of the most effective and budget-friendly cybersecurity strategies to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access. Organizations should provide relevant training to all their primary and secondary stakeholders on how to maintain the integrity of their personal and professional data.

The key aspects to focus on for training are:

• Understanding phishing attacks and their mitigation
• Software and hardware to utilize with company devices
• File scanning for malware before opening it
• Checking digital signatures on emails
• Preventing social engineering attacks

Additionally, the training must be conducted quarterly or as per your own schedule to ensure that the latest measures can be taken to ensure data confidentiality. You can find thousands of training modules available for free, helping to save quite a chunk of investment.

#2:Utilize Authentic Tools

Authentic tools are the ones that are not cracked or downloaded from third-party websites. When legitimate software tools are utilized, they help you prevent large data breaches that can cause a loss of millions of dollars and reputation.

Investing in legitimate tools can seem expensive at the beginning. But, for long-term cost saving, it's the best thing a company can do. It provides numerous advantages per security aspect, such as:

• The code is secured using a code signing certificate, meaning that hackers cannot modify it.
• The software tools development firm provides updates to align it with required security standards.
• The legitimate tools are tested and patched, minimizing the possibility of getting breached.

#3:Use Advanced AAA Mechanism

Whether it's a small, medium, large, or a fortune company, every one of them must implement the AAA mechanism. It stands for Authentication, Authorization, and Access control.

The authentication helps to validate the user’s identity. Authorization helps with providing relevant access according to the role and responsibility of a person. Access control aids in defining who can and cannot access a certain portal, control tool, or even a physical location on the premises.

All three security mechanisms are best suited together, and to strengthen them, multi-factor authentication should be configured. The AAA is inexpensive to implement and can be effortlessly managed through an active directory or a centralized server.

#4:SSL is Must

Nowadays, every organization has its own website, which works as the primary source of communication and digital presence. From telling people about the company to enabling professionals to join the firm for an open position, the website serves all such purposes. So, you should make it highly secure, and one of the relevant and affordable ways is an SSL/TLS certificate.

SSL/TLS certificates must be configured for your website, as it provides dual benefits. The first advantage of assuring data security and the second is it improves search engine indexing. Furthermore, SSL certificates come in different versions according to needs, such as:

• Domain Validation SSL Certificate for static websites
• Organization Validation SSL Certificate for dynamic website
• Extended Validation SSL Certificate for eCommerce, medical, and financial transaction-associated websites

SSL certificates are also available for a number of domains. Thus, you should thoroughly research SSL certificates before configuring them.

#5:Firewalls and Updates

Firewalls are available in both software and hardware versions. Where hardware firewalls are expensive, software firewalls are budget-friendly and easy to configure.

If your organization’s budget is low, then you should consider configuring a software firewall in your network. To strengthen its capabilities, an end-point security mechanism, such as anti-malware software, can also be installed.

You can choose from the following software firewall solutions:

• Comodo firewall
• Netgate pfSense
• Azure firewall
• Sophos firewall
• FortiGate NGFW (Next Generation Firewall)

Additionally, you should update the firewall policies according to dynamic business needs and modifications in the infrastructure. It’ll help you block potential attackers and secure data in every possible use case.

High-End Cost-Effective Cybersecurity Tools

Data is the most valuable asset of an organization, and it's recommended that the most avant-garde tools be used to protect it. However, it’s not compulsory to configure only expensive solutions. The below low-cost yet advanced solutions can help you maintain data integrity and confidentiality.

• Coalition
• Curricula
• Duo Security
• Snort
• Wireshark
• Windows Defender
• JupiterOne
• Vulcan Cyber

Before implementing any of the tools in your infrastructure, you should check their features, compliance with standards, and ability to fulfill your requirements.

Concluding Up

Maintaining good cyber hygiene is the priority of every organization. However, due to a lack of budget, SMBs are not able to utilize expensive tools and solutions. In such cases, the above-listed low-cost cybersecurity solutions come into effect. By configuring an SSL, using a software firewall, training stakeholders, and configuring AAA, data integrity can be maintained.

By following all the listed cybersecurity approaches, a firm can efficiently prevent attackers in a budget-friendly manner.