Don’t be fooled, being a small business doesn’t protect you from the bad guys who want to exploit you!
Forbes analysis of a cyber security survey by Opinium makes startling reading…
One statistic was concerning:
63% of small businesses experienced some form of cyber breach in 2018 – up from 47% in 2017.
One paragraph really got me worried:
“Efforts to persuade small businesses to protect themselves against cyber crime – including a string of initiatives from the Government – appear to be falling short. Many small businesses complain that the cost of mitigating risk is prohibitive; others assume that their small size will protect them, with criminals more likely to target bigger businesses with deeper pockets.”
Misconceptions…
Criminals take into account the size of the organisation.
They don’t care! The cost of sending a phishing email to 1 million users or trying to break into 1 million routers with a programmed application IS EXACTLY THE SAME.
If anything, small businesses are seen as EASIER targets because they are far less likely to have sophisticated firewalls, routers and anti-malware defences. Let’s face it, are you going to try to break into a heavily-guarded fortress or a bungalow with all the windows open?
Businesses of between 10-49 staff had a similar level of attack: successful breaches costs on average £65,000. Can your organisation afford that?
We work with many clients in the 5-50 user size range and these issues come up daily. In addition, many companies that work in a supply-chains are asked by their partners, “what IT security and process do you have in place” before committing to future projects. If their partner gets hacked and is unable to operate, this will have adverse effects for the entire chain. We all have a duty of care and responsibility to pro-actively protect ourselves.
