SonicWall, as a company specialized in cybersecurity, highlights that small and medium-sized companies are rethinking their cybersecurity strategy in the face of a threat scenario increasingly focused on credential theft, phishing and ransomware. Beyond incorporating new tools, the real challenge for SMEs now is to guarantee operational continuity and limit the impact of incidents when they occur.
“Many companies continue to approach security from a fragmented approach, based on isolated solutions that do not always work in a coordinated manner. In a context in which attackers no longer need sophisticated vulnerabilities to compromise an organization, this lack of integration has become one of the main risks for SMEs; identity theft is enough,” says Sergio Martínez, country manager of Iberia and Italy at SonicWall.
Keep the business operational
Success in cybersecurity is not measured by the number of tools deployed, but by the ability to keep the business operational when an incident occurs. Today, attackers do not need to break down the door because they simply log in using stolen credentials, access that is too broad, or taking advantage of human errors, a situation that especially affects SMEs due to their more limited resources.
The analysis aligns with key trends seen in the market over the past year, where phishing, business email compromise and malware designed to steal credentials remain some of the most common attack vectors against small and medium-sized businesses and SMEs across all sectors. The problem is not only to prevent intrusion, but to assume that it may occur at some point and design security to contain the impact.
Coherent architecture for a secure environment
Many organizations already have advanced capabilities included within their productivity and collaboration platforms, such as multi-factor authentication, basic endpoint protection, or email filtering. However, these functions are often implemented partially or without a coordinated access and identity strategy, generating blind spots and limited response capacity, something especially common among SMEs.
“Most small businesses and SMEs do not need an extremely complex security infrastructure, but rather a coherent architecture, capable of limiting lateral movement, reducing exposure and accelerating recovery when something fails,” highlights Martínez.
One of the main challenges identified for SMEs is the continued use of traditional VPN-based remote access models, where once the user is authenticated, broad visibility over the corporate network is granted. In a scenario where credential theft is increasingly frequent, this model significantly increases the risk of attack propagation.
Adopt layered security strategies
This approach not only improves containment against potential incidents, but also simplifies the user experience and reduces operational complexity for many SMB IT teams. Simpler, more consistent security significantly increases the likelihood of user compliance and reduces the need for exceptions or insecure access.
One of the main challenges for SMEs is the continued use of traditional VPN-based remote access models.
In addition to strengthening access controls, the expert emphasizes the importance of adopting layered security strategies that integrate endpoint protection, email security, multi-factor authentication and operational recovery capabilities. The key, he points out, is not in adding more solutions, but in ensuring that all of them work in a coordinated manner to protect SMEs against increasingly sophisticated threats.
“Resilience must become the top priority for SMEs. Attacks will continue to occur, but catastrophic consequences can be avoided if organizations reduce exposure, contain the impact and are able to recover quickly,” concludes Sergio Martínez.
