SMBs Should Be Tightening Their Cybersecurity

It’s easy to assume that cyber-attacks only happen to big businesses because the media makes it seem as such. We’ve all heard about hacks happening to companies and organizations like Britain’s National Health Service, Virgin America, Yahoo, Equifax, and the Central Intelligence Agency. That’s right. Even the organization meant to uncover and destroy viruses and malware was hacked, resulting in a massive leak of confidential data.

The Numbers

You can bet that if these massive organizations with millions invested in cybersecurity are vulnerable, your SMB is too. In fact, according to the Ponemon Institute’s 2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium-Sized Businesses report, 61 percent of SMBs were hit with a cyber-attack in 2017 and 54 percent experienced a data breach. That means there is a 61 percent or higher chance your SMB is at risk, and losses can be anywhere from $2,000 to $1 million. So now the question is, are you prepared?

Your Cybersecurity

Start by asking yourself these questions to determine whether you’re doing enough to protect your company’s data. Are you using technology like firewalls, antivirus scanning programs, and email spam catchers? Do you have a specific person or department dedicated to your cybersecurity? Are all your employees given the information they need to protect their machines from cyber-attacks? Do you strictly enforce your password policies? If the answer to any of these questions is no, your level of protection is likely leaving you vulnerable to threats. Only a small percentage of SMB employees feel they have a highly-effective cybersecurity system in place, which means you are not alone. A primary concern is budget, with statistics showing that nearly 63 percent of SMB employees believe their company doesn’t have adequate funds to protect their data. This leads to businesses lacking in team members whose primary focus is security. Sixty-two percent of employees say they don't have an in-house team dedicated to cybersecurity.

Hire a Consultant

Every big business starts as an SMB. We understand that a budget's limitations can restrict the ability to hire a team dedicated to cybersecurity alone. However, if you store any sensitive data that relates to clients or want to minimize your risk of possible downtime from a security breach, you may find it helpful to hire a dedicated consultant to the safety of your data. StorageCraft is the data recovery pro. We offer a variety of solutions to fit the budget and needs of SMBs, whether you have five employees or 105. The general rule of thumb is, if your data is worth more to you than $200, it’s in your best interest to back it up with a system that will also be able to recover it. Take a closer look at our method of online data recovery with a free demo of our Recovery Solution, or contact us today to learn more about how we can help you guard your business against a cyber-attack.