Rural Sheridan Businesses Face Rising Email Threats, But Smart Solutions Are Winning the Fight Against Cybercriminals

In the small town of Sheridan, Indiana—population 3,355—local businesses are discovering they’re not immune to the sophisticated cyber threats plaguing companies worldwide. Business email compromise attacks accounted for 73% of all reported cyber incidents in 2024, and these attacks are increasingly targeting rural communities that often lack the cybersecurity resources of their urban counterparts.

In 2024 alone, these scams cost companies over $16.6 billion, with 256,256 complaints with actual loss, making BEC attacks more expensive than ransomware, data breaches, and other cyber threats combined. For small businesses in rural areas like Sheridan, where job opportunities are slim but travel to nearby towns isn’t too far with an average commute to grocery stores/ restaurants and jobs being between 5-25 minutes, a successful cyber attack can be devastating.

The Perfect Storm: Why Rural Businesses Are Prime Targets

Rural businesses face a unique combination of challenges that make them attractive targets for cybercriminals. Limited IT Budgets: Many small businesses lack the resources to invest in advanced cybersecurity tools or hire full-time IT teams. This resource constraint is particularly acute in small communities where rural communities often fall below what’s called the Cyber Poverty Line, not able to afford basic cybersecurity protections. The key distinction is this: rural communities are not behind—they are underserved by infrastructure and public policy.

This framework identifies four critical resource gaps: insufficient funding for security tools, lack of cybersecurity expertise, limited technology capabilities, and minimal influence to secure outside help. For businesses in Sheridan and similar rural communities, these gaps create vulnerabilities that cybercriminals are eager to exploit.

BEC Attacks: The Silent Threat

Unlike traditional phishing emails with obvious red flags, BEC attacks often look completely normal—no sketchy attachments, no obvious spelling errors, and no suspicious links that traditional security tools can catch. BEC is a type of scam where cybercriminals impersonate trusted parties, such as the CEO, business partners, or other executives in a company.

What makes these attacks particularly dangerous for rural businesses is their sophistication. These attacks are more like a sophisticated con where criminals study their targets, learn how your business operates, and then strike when you least expect it. The use of AI voice clones and video deepfakes is still relatively rare but growing. As the technology becomes more accessible, high-value BEC targets may face extremely convincing impostors via Zoom/Teams or voicemail.

Local Solutions for Rural Challenges

Despite these challenges, businesses in the Sheridan area are finding effective ways to protect themselves. Companies like CTS Computers, which Since 1991, CTS Computers has been a leading provider of IT support and consulting, focusing on small and medium sized businesses in central Illinois and Indiana. We have helped hundreds of businesses increase productivity and profitability by making IT a streamlined part of operations. We equip our clients with customized technology solutions for greater operational value and to reduce risk.

The key to success lies in understanding that With limited resources and budgets, these companies need cybersecurity guidance, solutions, and training that is practical, actionable, and enables them to cost-effectively address and manage their cybersecurity risks. This is where specialized cybersecurity sheridan services become invaluable for local businesses.

Practical Defense Strategies

Rural businesses are implementing several cost-effective strategies to combat BEC attacks:

• Employee Training: Better employee security training: Frequent phishing simulations and mandatory employee awareness training have become standard requirements by regulatory authorities (FFIEC, NY DFS) and cybersecurity frameworks to combat BEC threats.
• Email Authentication: Mandatory email authentication (DMARC/SPF/DKIM): DMARC has moved from best-practice to mandatory requirement in 2025, significantly reducing spoofed BEC emails.
• Multi-Factor Authentication: MFA adoption: MFA is now an industry-standard cybersecurity requirement in frameworks like NIST and ISO 27001 to protect against email account compromises facilitating BEC attacks.
• Verification Processes: Formal incident response protocols: Organizations are widely adopting mandatory verification processes (callbacks, dual-approval) for payment requests, reducing successful BEC fraud attempts

The Human Element

Perhaps most importantly, successful rural businesses recognize that User behavior is the final gate. When trained to pause on financial authority delivered through email, users force the attacker into a harder, more detectable position. The best defense, Everett emphasized, is to slow down and think. Don’t rush to click, and don’t rely solely on the information provided in the email — bad actors are counting on you to trust what you see.

Looking Forward

While the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, rural businesses in Sheridan and surrounding areas are proving that limited resources don’t have to mean limited protection. By partnering with experienced local IT providers, implementing practical security measures, and focusing on employee education, these businesses are successfully defending against even the most sophisticated BEC attacks.

The key is recognizing that While many small businesses have limited resources, personnel, and understanding of cybersecurity risks, small businesses are not necessarily less secure. Because of their size, small businesses may be more innovative and agile in their responses to cybersecurity risks than larger organizations. They can pivot, update and adapt to new policies, requirements, and risks in a more timely manner than some larger organizations.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, the rural business community’s collaborative approach to cybersecurity—combining local expertise, practical solutions, and community support—serves as a model for small businesses everywhere facing similar challenges in an increasingly digital world.