When we (countries) talk about economics, it boils down to SMBs, since they are the backbone of sustainable growth. Even enterprises rely on this system to provide their products and services.

Although SMBs are valuable to the world, they are somewhat poorly managed when it comes to technology. This factor alone makes them a prime target for threat actors with different intents and resources. In fact, they account for nearly 43% of all attacks worldwide.

I will let these reports speak for themselves:

• Top Cybersecurity Statistics: Facts, Stats and Breaches for 2025
• Small business cybersecurity: Survey shows reason for worry
• Do Hackers Attack Small Businesses? Statistics Say Yes

The outlook for 2026 is even more concerning!

Should we panic? Absolutely not!

Even though the waters look very murky, SMBs are thriving under these harsh conditions with support from governments and industry bodies, just to name a few: NIST, FCC, IMDA, and NCSC. Their efforts provide practical frameworks and tools to help SMBs build resilience.

These initiatives are empowering "savvy business owners" with simple, effective strategies, from awareness campaigns to actionable security measures. Keeping SMBs operating in a secure state is a priority for many, even "juggernauts" from all over the world.

If you manage an SMB and are looking for an effective solution to help you achieve a certain level of security confidence without breaking the bank, I think the list below could be just what you need!

Action1 — Enterprise-grade Patch Management.

Enable IT security and operations teams to detect, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities to ensure continuous compliance — all while reducing costs and making your enterprise secure.

VEEAM — Community Edition Product Offerings.

Radical Resilience is Our Difference: With Veeam by your side, you have the flexibility you want for today's hybrid cloud and the confidence you need for long-term success.

Enzoic — Prevents Account Take Over

Enzoic combines the most comprehensive, complete, and actionable threat research data with automated remediation to help you strengthen your cybersecurity posture.

Wazuh — One unified platform for complete protection

Wazuh is the most widely adopted open-source cybersecurity platform, unifying XDR and SIEM in a single solution. It analyzes security data across endpoints, clouds, and networks to detect threats, respond to incidents, and ensure compliance, helping organizations strengthen their security posture through continuous monitoring and automation.

Lansweeper — Gain Full Visibility Into Your IT, OT, and IoT Assets

Lansweeper is your single source of truth for technology asset intelligence — helping you reduce risk, increase efficiency, and make smarter IT decisions.

OPSWAT Suite

From web apps and extensions to plugins, clients, and scripts, start your cybersecurity journey with these free OPSWAT tools.

ARISTA — NG Firewall Packages

Software subscriptions for NG Firewall allow you to easily and affordably build and manage a secure network. Using ETM Dashboard, you can centrally manage all your network appliances, and even deploy hardware appliances, from anywhere.

3CX — Big business features at small business costs

The 3CX SMB Free edition is tailored for small offices with up to 10 users, providing remote working apps for iOS, Android, Windows and a Web Client.

It also includes call handling options, inbound WhatsApp, Live Chat SMS and video calls.

3CX SMB FREE is hosted by 3CX making the installation process quick and easy. We don't make you sign a contract. You're free to walk away at any time.

Never miss a call again… and so much more on a $0 budget! If your customers can't get in contact…they aren't going to buy.

DUO — Get more than the basics with Duo Free

Protect your credentials and applications with free multi-factor authentication (MFA) that's simple to integrate and easy to use.

Conclusion

Many of these tools have saved me during a dilemma — having something or living with the consequences of negligence. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages, but what they all have in common is this: security for SMBs should never come at the cost of profitability. Security must enable business, not hinder it.

I have personally used all of them in many of my projects, and they have consistently performed well — often beyond what I expected at the time. Some of them really surprised me, making me wonder: What's the catch? Why is this free? Is this a heaven-sent tool? I won't name which ones — I'll let you be the judge.

There are more tools beyond this list. When you're on a strict budget, your imagination and curiosity should be your fuel.

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