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February 16, 2026
Small businesses in Sheridan face growing cybersecurity threats that could cost thousands or shut down operations entirely.
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Ransomware has become the nightmare scenario that keeps business owners awake at night, and for good reason. 71 percent of ransomware attacks target small businesses, with an average ransom demand of $116,000. But the ransom is just the beginning—most businesses face weeks of downtime, lost customers, and recovery costs that often exceed the original demand.
What makes ransomware particularly dangerous for Sheridan businesses is how it spreads. One infected email attachment or compromised password can lock down your entire network within hours. Ransomware remains one of the most devastating threats, especially with the rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), which allows even novice cybercriminals to launch sophisticated ransomware attacks by renting tools from experienced hackers.
The reality is stark: many small businesses never fully recover from a ransomware attack. The combination of ransom payments, system restoration costs, and lost business creates a financial burden that’s often insurmountable.
Understanding how ransomware gets into your systems is the first step toward stopping it. Most attacks start with seemingly innocent interactions that your employees encounter daily.
Email attachments remain the most common entry point. A staff member receives what appears to be an invoice, contract, or shipping notification. They click the attachment, and within seconds, malicious code begins encrypting files across your network. These emails are increasingly sophisticated, often appearing to come from legitimate vendors or customers your business works with regularly.
Remote access vulnerabilities present another major risk. Many Sheridan businesses adopted remote work tools quickly during recent years, but didn’t always implement proper security measures. Weak passwords on remote desktop connections or unpatched VPN software create easy access points for attackers. Once inside your network through these remote connections, criminals can move freely between systems, often going undetected for weeks while they map out your most valuable data.
Website vulnerabilities also provide entry points that many businesses overlook. If your company website runs on outdated software or uses plugins that haven’t been updated, attackers can exploit these weaknesses to gain access to your broader network. This is particularly concerning for businesses that process customer payments or store sensitive information through their websites.
The timing of these attacks is rarely coincidental. Cybercriminals often strike during busy periods, holidays, or times when your IT support might be limited. They know that pressure to restore operations quickly makes businesses more likely to pay ransoms rather than endure lengthy recovery processes.
The financial impact of ransomware extends far beyond the initial ransom demand, creating a cascade of costs that can cripple small businesses. Verizon reports a median loss of $46K per SMB ransomware incident, while IBM’s 2024 report found 95% of SMB breaches cost up to $650K.
Downtime represents the most immediate and often largest cost. Every hour your systems remain locked means lost productivity, missed sales opportunities, and frustrated customers. For a typical Sheridan business, even a single day of complete system downtime can result in thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Manufacturing companies might face production delays that ripple through supply chains. Service businesses lose the ability to schedule appointments, process payments, or access customer records.
Recovery costs pile up quickly even after systems are restored. Forensic investigations to determine how the attack occurred, system rebuilding, data recovery attempts, and security improvements all require significant investment. Many businesses discover that their backup systems were also compromised, forcing them to recreate months or years of data from scratch.
Legal and regulatory consequences add another layer of expense. If customer data was accessed during the attack, businesses face notification requirements, potential lawsuits, and regulatory fines. The cost of cybercrimes in Indiana was more than $160 million in 2024, reflecting not just direct theft but the broader economic impact of these attacks on local businesses.
Customer trust, once lost, proves incredibly expensive to rebuild. News of a ransomware attack spreads quickly in tight-knit communities like Sheridan. Customers worry about the safety of their personal information and may take their business elsewhere. Rebuilding that reputation requires significant marketing investment and often takes years to fully accomplish.
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Phishing attacks represent the most common cybersecurity threat facing Sheridan businesses, yet they’re often the most underestimated. In 2024, the FBI reported more than $2.7 billion in losses from business email compromise alone. These aren’t the obvious “Nigerian prince” emails of the past—today’s phishing attempts are sophisticated, personalized, and incredibly convincing.
Modern phishing attacks target your employees with laser precision. Criminals research your business, study your vendors, and craft emails that appear to come from trusted sources. They might pose as your bank requesting account verification, a vendor asking for payment details, or even a colleague needing urgent assistance with a project.
The human element makes phishing particularly dangerous. Even security-conscious employees can fall victim when they’re busy, distracted, or under pressure. One successful phishing attack can provide criminals with the credentials they need to access your entire network, steal sensitive data, or launch more sophisticated attacks against your business.
Business Email Compromise (BEC) represents one of the most financially devastating forms of phishing, specifically targeting businesses that regularly make wire transfers or process invoices. These attacks have become increasingly common in Indiana, with criminals focusing on small businesses that may lack robust financial controls.
The attack typically unfolds over several stages. Criminals first compromise an email account belonging to a key employee, vendor, or business partner. They then monitor email communications for weeks or months, learning about your business relationships, payment processes, and upcoming transactions. Armed with this inside knowledge, they strike at the perfect moment.
The actual fraud often involves intercepting legitimate invoices and changing payment details, or impersonating executives to authorize fraudulent wire transfers. For example, your accounting team might receive what appears to be an urgent email from the CEO requesting an immediate wire transfer for a “confidential acquisition.” The email looks authentic, uses the CEO’s actual email address (which has been compromised), and references real business activities the criminals observed during their surveillance.
Many businesses lack clear protocols for verifying unusual requests, making them more vulnerable to “CEO fraud” and invoice scams. In the UK, 84% of businesses that experienced cybersecurity sheridan breaches or attacks faced phishing attempts in 2024. The financial losses from these attacks can be devastating, with individual incidents often resulting in losses of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What makes BEC particularly insidious is how it exploits normal business processes. The requests often seem reasonable and urgent, pressuring employees to act quickly without following standard verification procedures. By the time the fraud is discovered, the money has typically been transferred to accounts controlled by criminals and is nearly impossible to recover.
Artificial intelligence has revolutionized phishing attacks, making them more convincing and harder to detect than ever before. Deepfake technology uses AI to create realistic fake videos, images, or audio. The number of deepfakes online surged by 550% from 2019 to 2023, with over 500,000 deepfakes shared on social media in 2023 alone. By 2025, this number is expected to reach 8 million.
AI-powered phishing attacks can now create personalized emails that perfectly mimic writing styles, reference specific business relationships, and even include realistic-looking documents or images. These tools analyze thousands of legitimate business communications to understand patterns and create convincing forgeries that can fool even experienced employees.
Voice cloning technology presents an emerging threat that’s particularly concerning for small businesses. Criminals can now create realistic audio recordings of executives or trusted business partners using just a few minutes of sample audio from voicemails, video conferences, or social media posts. These fake recordings can be used to authorize fraudulent transactions over the phone, bypassing many traditional security measures.
Cybercriminals now use artificial intelligence to automate phishing, impersonate executives, and create artificial audio or video messages, with over half of businesses experiencing AI-related vulnerabilities. Additionally, attackers are leveraging AI to scale ransomware and social engineering schemes, making scams more believable than ever.
The sophistication of these AI-powered attacks means that traditional security awareness training may no longer be sufficient. Businesses need to implement technical controls that can detect AI-generated content and establish verification procedures that don’t rely solely on recognizing suspicious communications. Multi-factor authentication, callback procedures for financial requests, and advanced email filtering become essential defenses against these evolving threats.
The cybersecurity landscape facing Sheridan businesses is more dangerous than ever, but these threats aren’t unstoppable. Indiana’s small businesses need to be prepared for intensifying cybersecurity threats. With funding provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is providing no-cost trainings, assessments, and one-on-one assistance that small businesses can utilize to protect themselves.
Success requires a comprehensive approach that combines employee training, technical safeguards, and professional expertise. Your team needs to understand these threats and know how to respond when they encounter suspicious communications or requests. But training alone isn’t enough—you need robust technical defenses and monitoring systems that can detect and stop attacks before they cause damage.
The investment in cybersecurity isn’t just about avoiding losses—it’s about ensuring your business can continue serving customers and growing for years to come. For businesses in Sheridan looking to build comprehensive cybersecurity defenses, partnering with experienced professionals like us at CTS Computers can provide the expertise and support needed to stay protected in an increasingly dangerous digital world.
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