How SMBs can lower their risk of cyberattacks and data breaches

A sponsored article explains that the Akira ransomware group has heavily targeted SMBs since 2023, demanding $200K–$4M and commonly gaining initial access via compromised credentials, situating this within broader SMB risk trends (high breach rates, costly recovery, and human-error-driven attacks). It recommends adopting NIST-aligned controls and credential-focused defenses—strong password policies, MFA, blocking known breached passwords, Active Directory password audits, and user-awareness training—promoting Specops solutions as practical mitigations.