Most SMBs Fold after Cyber Attacks: Here’s How to Protect Yours

Most SMBs Fold after Cyber Attacks: Here’s How to Protect Yours

Many small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) think they’re flying under the radar of cyber-attackers. But in reality, perpetrators specifically target smaller, more vulnerable businesses because of their lack of security expertise and fragile infrastructure, and because they often provide easy entryways to larger companies with whom the SMBs work. Even more alarming, more than 60 percent of SMBs go out of business within six months of devastating attacks, like ransomware and distributed denial of service (DDOS).

In this digital era, where cyber-attacks happen at all times around the world,  SMBs are often the hardest hit, although their breaches may not make headline news. According to a report by Verizon, 61 percent of data breach victims were small businesses. And as Hiscox’s Cyber Preparedness Report 2017 notes, small businesses lose an average of $41,000 per cybersecurity incident.

The challenge is that SMBs typically have a shoe string IT & security budget and very limited expertise with cutting-edge tools. For instance, a local mom-and-pop store typically has a firewall and anti-virus for their security posture. So DDOS attacks, point-of-sale malware and phishing scams can very easily lead to a huge payout for attackers. Moreover, it is not always easy for business owners to understand what and how to protect their assets from constantly evolving cyber threats.

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