If you only do one thing to protect your business this year, turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA). It’s quick, it’s usually free, and it stops the most common way local businesses get breached: a stolen password.
What is MFA?
MFA adds a second check when you sign in. After your password, you approve a prompt on your phone or enter a one-time code. Even if a scammer steals your password, they can’t get in without that second factor.
Why it matters for South West businesses
Most break-ins we see locally don’t involve clever hacking — they involve a convincing scam email that captures a password. Once an attacker has an email login, they can read your mail, reset other accounts, and send invoices with their bank details to your customers. MFA shuts that down.
How to turn it on
- Start with email — it’s the master key to everything else. In Microsoft 365, MFA can be enforced for all staff centrally.
- Add it to banking, accounting and any system holding customer data.
- Use an authenticator app (not SMS) where you can — it’s more secure.
- Set up backup codes so nobody gets locked out.
Common worries
“It’ll slow my team down.” In practice it’s one tap, and you can reduce prompts on trusted office devices.
“We’re too small to be a target.” Attacks are automated — they don’t care how big you are. Small businesses are often targeted because they’re less protected.
If you’d like a hand switching MFA on properly across your business — without locking anyone out — book a security review. We’ll set it up and check the rest of your essentials while we’re at it.