Security Breaches Are Not Only A Threat To Big Businesses: How To Protect Your Small Business
If you think that big corporations are the main target of cyber hack attacks and data breaches, you are most definitely wrong. The truth is, cyber hackers have gotten a lot smarter over the years and realized that the smaller the business is, the more vulnerable it is to cyber threats of all kinds.
Therefore, keeping your small business safe from data breaches and hacks is not anymore something you should do - it's something you must do if you want your business safe, up and running. In fact, according to a report by the Ponemon Institute, even 50% of small businesses have been breached in the past 12 months.
So, first of all, let's ask ourselves why is that the reason.
Why Are Small Businesses The Most Common Targets Of Cyber Attacks?
Obviously, a big corporation getting its cyber security compromised makes a big headline. However, small businesses are the actual targets from which the hackers can still the most data, believe it or not. According to experts, they are the 'sweet spot', with more digital assets to target than the average consumer and less security than a large enterprise.
So, what does this tell us?
Basically, hackers attack small businesses because they are less careful about their security. They tend to underestimate their risk level and think they are invisible in the eyes of the hackers or think they don't have anything worth stealing.
And that is definitely false. In the next part, we are showing you why.
The Main Reasons Why Security Breaches Happen To Small Businesses
Whether it's a security breach, loss of data or simply a cyber attack, these actions are result of two things that businesses share:
lack of awareness and
exposure to threats
They are basically unaware of the fact that their digital information is vulnerable and leave the system as it is - unsecured. On top of that, the percentage of workers who know at least something about cyber attacks is very small, which additionally speaks for their exposure.
On top of that, the exposure to threats is the biggest in small businesses. That is linked with the above mentioned exposure to threats and the ignorance people share when the topic cyber security is in question.
The Cost Of Data Breach Is Huge And The Attack Hurts Small Businesses The Most
The result of this entire situation is unfortunately worse than you may think. Security breaches are the attacks that hurt small businesses most and ones that get through and past any type of antivirus or firewall. In fact, antiviruses and firewalls are an old security measure that does not apply in today's risky cyber space.
If we translate these actions to numbers, the lack of awareness and increase in the number of attacks is higher than ever before, and the average cost of data breach recovery is estimated at roughly $30k to $50k, depending on the type of attack in question. This amount, in most of the cases, is either a big part of the total value of small businesses or the total value itself.
Which leads us to the final part where we share the best way to protect your small business.
Protect Your Small Business Against Cyber Attacks Of All Types
If you see your small business as a large corporation-to-be, you definitely know how important taking care of everything related to it actually is. An average breach may cost you not just the loss of data - it can also be detrimental to the future of the entire business. That is why both large and small businesses should protect themselves against risks and safeguard their cyber environment with the help of experts.
A little precaution can help you protect hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in profits in the long run. For more information on how our team of experts at Optel BCS can help you, click here.
