Miami small businesses move fast, email, cloud apps, vendors, and quick payments. Attackers move fast, too.
This 2026 checklist will tell you the first things to do, the second things to do, and the third things to review every quarter. The fundamentals that prevent the majority of the incidents will be discussed: MFA, robust passwords, updates, verified backups, and safer email. You’ll also see plain-English Florida breach notice timelines, plus a framework map based on NIST CSF 2.0, so nothing important is missed. No jargon. Just steps you can start in the next 48 hours.
SMB Checklist Miami (Mapped To NIST CSF 2.0)
The NIST CSF 2.0 divides the results into six functions: Govern (identify), Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. There, use them as buckets for the checklists.
Govern
- Assign one security owner and one backup owner, with contacts.
- Keep three short policies: accounts, devices, and data handling.
- Require least privilege for staff and vendors, with fast offboarding.
- Review risks and controls quarterly.
Identify
- Inventory work devices, including phones that access email.
- Inventory accounts, especially admins, shared mailboxes, and service accounts.
- Map sensitive data locations and who can export or delete it.
- Track critical systems and recovery orders for outages.
Protect
- Turn on MFA for email, admin portals, banking, payroll, and CRM.
- Use a password manager and stop shared admin credentials.
- Remove local admin rights from daily user accounts.
Email safety
- Block external auto-forwarding unless approved.
- Alert on new inbox rules and new OAuth app grants.
- Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domains.
Device and network basics
- Enable automatic updates for OS, browsers, and key apps.
- Deploy endpoint protection and confirm it is reporting.
- Encrypt laptops and require screen locks.
- Close inbound RDP from the internet and harden VPN access.
- Separate guest Wi-Fi and isolate POS and IoT devices.
Backups
- Use 3-2-1 backups with one offline or immutable copy.
- Test restores monthly and documents results.
Detect
- Centralize logs for email, endpoints, and the firewall.
- Alert on impossible travel, MFA changes, new admins, and mass file edits.
- Review alerts weekly or outsource monitoring.
Respond
Have an incident response plan that is one-page in nature.
- Roles: who makes decisions, who makes phone calls, who makes calls to banks and vendors?
- Evidence: preserve logs and affected devices, and document the timeline.
- Playbooks: ransomware, lost laptop, and email takeover.
The FBI reported $16.6B in losses from internet crime in 2024, which is why speed matters after an incident.
Recover
- Establish RTO and RPO objectives in email, POS, CRM, and file storage.
- Rebuild from trusted images, then reset credentials and revoke sessions.
- Run a post-incident review and tighten controls.
Florida Compliance Essentials For Miami Businesses
Florida law sets strict notice clocks for covered personal information.
- Notify affected individuals no later than 30 days after you determine a breach occurred.
- If 500+ Florida residents are affected, notify the Florida Department of Legal Affairs within 30 days.
If a vendor is breached, the third-party agent must notify you within 10 days.
Rollout Plan By Timeframe
Next 48 hours: MFA on email, patch key devices, confirm backups, remove ex-user access.
Next 7 days: complete inventories, deploy endpoint protection, lock down remote access, write the one-page response plan.
Next 30 days: implement SPF/DKIM/DMARC, segment Wi-Fi and POS, review vendor access, and run one tabletop exercise.
Quarterly: review permissions, test restores, verify patch closure, and refresh the response plan.
What To Insource Vs What To Outsource.
In-source: implementation of MFA, the use of a password manager, regularity of patches, and employee education. Outsource: 24/7 monitoring, incident response, advanced email tuning, and backup validation.
When you vet a Miami provider, ask about monitoring scope, response time, tool ownership, and Florida compliance support.
Your 2026 Action Plan Starts Here
Cybersecurity is a routine, not a product. Start with MFA, email hardening, and tested backups. Then add monitoring and a one-page response plan. If you need help in Miami, choose Netcom Online because we prove outcomes with reporting and restoration tests.
FAQs
What is the fastest security upgrade for a small business?
How often should you test backups?
At least monthly, and after major system changes.
How bad can ransomware get?
Sophos indicates an average of 49 percent of the computers that are affected in ransomware attacks.
