When you opened your building business, you considered everything. From lining up reliable suppliers to designing the best site for your business, to running ads to let your city know you’re open for business. You’ve done the best you can to make your business thrive, but have you considered what might be happening in areas you don’t have eyes on?

The simple truth is that as your business has grown, so has your reliance on technology to manage everything from operations, storing sensitive client information, to communicating with your team. It’s convenient, but these digital tools also come with risks that are important to consider. Cybercriminals see small businesses like yours as easy targets, assuming you lack the resources to fend off attacks. A breach can often be the death knell for small businesses. Money isn’t the only thing you’d lose.

The good news is that these threats don’t have to be inevitable, and you don’t have to be a sitting duck for bad actors. By covering your bases properly, you can safeguard your client data, and protect yourself from becoming another statistic.

In this blog we’re going to talk about the top 3 most common cybersecurity mistakes small building companies make and most importantly, how to fix them.

Mistake 1- Neglecting Endpoint Protection

As a building company, you understand what goes into building a secure structure. Imagine the places you build, picture the gaping openings where windows and doors would go. Now imagine forgetting to put glass or doors in those spaces. What would happen?

The structure that you worked so hard to build would be compromised by weather, animals, or criminals. They would all have entry points into your structure and wreak havoc. In order to ensure that your building is protected, you need doors and windows that lock securely.

This is how endpoint protection works, but in the digital world. Every device that’s connected to your network is like a window without glass, or a doorway without a door. Not having endpoint protection leaves the doors open to cybercriminals who would love nothing more than to gain access to your structure and all of the valuables inside.

What to do about it: Luckily, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions exist. EDR solutions actively monitor devices for unusual activity, giving you real-time detection and lightning-quick responses to potential threats.

You also need to make sure that every device–laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc– that are connected to your network are fitted with endpoint protection.

Speaking of your network, we need to talk about…

Mistake 2- Weak Network Security

Remember that building example from the last section? If endpoint protection is like having secure doors and windows, weak network security is like having really bad plumbing. Everything seems fine on the surface, things seem to be running smoothly.

Until someone flushes the toilet.

A weak network is like a small pipe leak that slowly trickles water and sewage into your structure, causing catastrophic damage. Maybe not right away, but if it goes unnoticed, you’ll have a mold problem on your hands.

Outdated firewalls and lack of monitoring give attackers a direct pathway to infiltrate your digital pipes. Once inside, they steal information, disrupt operations, and can even install malicious software. All of these things happen without you realizing it until it’s too late. It’s a tale as old as time, honestly.

What to do about it: The best place to start is with a managed firewall. This acts as your network’s first line of defense, blocking unauthorized access while continuously watching for malicious activity.

The same way that you would stop a leak, you need to regularly patch and update all of your hardware and software to reinforce the vulnerabilities that cybercriminals typically exploit.

Mistake 3- Failing to Protect Customer Data, the Right Way

Without your client-base, there would be no business. Your clients trust you with their data, and it’s up to you to protect them. Cybercriminals are after more than just bank account numbers and social security numbers, they could be after email addresses, phone numbers, answers to security questions, addresses, and more. A simple invoice could be a cybertarget. Oftentimes, the most mundane information gives bad actors the information they need to crack tough security questions to bank accounts, and more.

The truth is that a data breach doesn’t just damage your clients, it damages your reputation, too. If a breach is traced back to your building company, you could lose money and potentially find yourself in the middle of a stressful legal battle.

What to do about it: One of the best ways to protect sensitive data is by using an approach called ringfencing. This approach limits access to sensitive files and applications, even for people within your network. Ringfencing works two ways.

One way is by acting as a moat around your fort, protecting each of your applications with its own ‘fence’ so that nothing malicious can get in.

The other way is by acting as a quarantine for apps or programs that may have been compromised. The fence contains the threat so that it can’t infect your other programs.

Now that we’ve covered the top 3 cybersecurity mistakes building companies make, we need to talk about how to find the right solution for your business, because one size certainly does not fit all.

Finding the right cybersecurity solution for your building company

Navigating the cybersecurity waters is tough when you don’t know what to look for. With so many solutions on the market, and the realization of just how vulnerable your business may be, it’s even harder to know where to start.

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to invest in a bunch of different platforms to protect your business. Actually, you can end the search before it’s even begun.

NTS specializes in helping small building companies like yours secure their businesses with custom cybersecurity solutions that are purpose-built for you and your needs. From endpoint protection to ringfencing and managed firewalls, we cover your important bases so you can focus on your clients and your business.

Ready to learn more? Contact us today and see what we can build for you.