In its 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon Enterprise reported that 74 percent of data breaches to small businesses are “crimes of opportunity” that occur because a hacker notices and exploits a weakness. Nearly half of these breaches are enabled by in-house mistakes made by employees who are not aware of data security protocol.

Security breaches can expose technology contractors, freelancers, consultants and other third-party companies to cyber liability. To minimize risk of exposure, IT professionals take the following steps:

1. Share the numbers. Tell clients that only 26 percent of small-business hacks are targeted. The rest are the cyber equivalent of a hacker seeing a window propped open and a wallet on the sill.

2. Provide training. Employee errors cause 48 percent of data breaches. Reviewing best practices for storing data, sharing files and transporting hardware helps non-tech workers better protect their data.

3. Encourage standard security measures. A hacker guesses passwords in 76 percent of data breaches. Remind clients to implement the basics: Create strong passwords, update passwords regularly, use antivirus software, encrypt sensitive data, limit access to sensitive information and have protocol in place for off-premises work.