“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do”- John Wooden
Are you a founder of a start-up or a small business? Or, Are you working for one? Whichever category you belong to, this is important for you to understand;
According to IBM in the Denver Post– Small and mid-size businesses are hit by 62% of all cyber-attacks. That is about 4000 per day. Here are the reasons why SMB’s are an easy target;
Most SMB’s do not have a security budget:
Businesses focus on providing products and services alone, potentially not properly securing these products or services. Customers sign-up to these products and services, trust the providers with large amounts of personal data. It is important to maintain the security of their data.
Solution: Conducting a risk assessment like implementing an ISO 27001 for your business might be the best way to ensure the security of a business.
61% of small business that suffers a cyber attack are out of business within six months:
When a big organisation is affected by a breach, they have the investments to back them up. With a small business, it’s not the same. According to the Ponemon institute, the average price for small to medium businesses after they’ve been hacked ranges from $690,000 to over a million.
Solution: To start small, conduct a Pen-test, risk assessment or vulnerability scan, which can help you with a quick check on the security of your business.
If budgets are tight, split it during the year between 2 quarters at least. Also, speak to a third party security provider who will advise you on the best approach.
61% of breach victims in 2017 were businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees:
The truth is that bigger companies can invest more heavily in security than small and medium-size businesses though they can still fall victim to the smallest error. Unfortunately, most cyber breaches happen due to human error.
Solution: Security awareness training is required for every business, big or small. The opportunity for a smaller organisation is that it is easier to train a small set of staff than a large group. The importance of why you should not click on unusual links in e-mails and changing passwords frequently, updating software’s etc; can be taught at a more focused level. Have a look at some of the most common human errors that can lead to a security gap.
GDPR- 50% of SMBs still don’t know what GDPR is:
And then there is 47% of small businesses who don’t have enough time or resources to improve their data security. Customers are more aware of their data now than before. Every business, no matter the size, needs to maintain their compliance and privacy policy.
Solution: Start with a GDPR roadmap to see where you are and where you should be. This might sound like a big investment but with a roadmap, you can split the services across phases, prioritise your risks, and focus on the service that is most important for your business.
A lot of time and money is invested in business from day 1, so why let anything come in the way? Take the precautions; it is better now rather than later when it may be too late.
We do not want to preach about security but we want every individual in an organisation to practice it. If you would like to speak to our subject matter experts for further advice, call us: 1800 903 552 or e-mail us.