Why Small Business Should Care about Cyber Security
21st March 2017
To some smaller businesses, it can feel as though cyber security is only a concern for large organisations and enterprises. However, the National Cyber Security Alliance indicates that one in five small businesses are impacted by cyber crime every year. If that wasn't enough, 60% of those businesses affected go out of business within six months of an attack.
While we've all read about bigger corporations like Sony and Target being targeted in the past, it's important to remember why small businesses need to be cautious with cyber security too. Let's take a look at just some of the reasons why you shouldn't overlook your safety.
1. Cyber Attacks are Serious
Research shows that around 60% of cyber-attacks are launched at small to medium sized businesses. One mistake that's frequently made by these businesses is the assumption that they cannot be targeted. Because they are not taking steps to protect themselves, many hackers are aware that small businesses are easy targets, because they lack the resources, experiences, or technology to fight back.
Though small businesses feel as though they're not at risk from cyber-attacks, the truth is that you're just as likely (if not more likely), to suffer from cyber threats as bigger businesses.
2. Small Businesses have Valuable Information
Although small businesses generally don't store as much data as larger businesses, that doesn't mean they haven't got anything worth stealing. The Better Business Bureau Council discovered that around 7.4% of SMB company owners had been the victim of fraud.
Small businesses hold employee and customer information, which make them prime targets for criminals. The types of information that hackers target can range all the way from social security numbers to online banking credentials.
3. Breaches Could End Your Business
Finally, from ruining your reputation, to leading to huge losses in profits, breaches in cybersecurity can be business-ending events. Depending on the statistics that you read, the average cost of a cyber security breach is astronomical, and often far too much for any small business to deal with. On top of that, because many small businesses don't back up their data, you could find that you lose crucial information that you can never get back.
4. Cyber Criminals are Always at Work
According to research findings, around 3.5 new cyber threats occur every second. Small businesses, just like larger organisations run the risk of losing productivity, sales, and data every time they are breached. That's why it's so important for any company - no matter its size - to focus on safeguarding business processes, data, and technology.
