Small Business Cybersecurity Checklist

This document is a checklist designed for small business owners and operations leaders to assess essential cybersecurity protections. It outlines key areas of focus, including security foundations, identity and access security, endpoint and device protection, network security controls, threat monitoring and detection, and backup and recovery protection. Each section provides specific actions to be taken, such as documenting cybersecurity policies, requiring multi-factor authentication, installing antivirus software, configuring firewall protection rules, enabling real-time threat monitoring, and backing up critical data daily. The checklist also includes a scoring model to evaluate the cybersecurity posture of the business, categorizing risk levels from high to controlled/secure based on the number of items checked. Immediate red flags are identified for critical areas lacking security measures, and next steps are suggested for businesses that score in the high-risk category, including scheduling a cybersecurity risk assessment.