A few years back, small businesses enjoyed a certain level of cyber immunity. Operations were simpler and weathering a “cyber storm” was easier because of fewer dependencies such as paper records which are protected from digital attack.
Today, many of these protections have eroded because of e-commerce, payment processing, mobile phones, and remote workers.
According to Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study, 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14% are prepared to defend themselves.
Not only does a cyberattack disrupt normal operations, but it may cause damage to important IT assets and infrastructure that can be impossible to recover from without the budget or resources to do so.
According to Ponemon Institute’s State of Cybersecurity Report, 66% of small businesses have experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months, while 45% say that their processes are ineffective at mitigating attacks. The most common types of attack are:
Phishing/Social Engineering: 57%
Compromised/Stolen Devices: 33%
Credential Theft: 30%
Enterprises can survive million-dollar losses. But, to a small business, the loss of a few thousand dollars at the wrong time and your doors close forever.
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