As a small business do you really need to worry about security? Let me answer that for you…ABSOLUTELY!
Many small business owners believe that no one would bother to go after a small business because they do not have assets like the Fortune 500 companies do. The reality could not be any further from the truth. As a result of this belief, most small businesses are ill prepared to defend against an attack and with the advent you are quite vulnerable if you do nothing to protect yourself and your business. Fact is that often the employee is the businesses worst enemy. Just by merely opening the wrong email you can be in danger as that is the most common initiation of an attack. Also, with the advent of resources like the Dark Web, tools are abundantly available to those who are less than honorable and even the moderately skilled, looking to make a quick buck, are to be able to hack into most small business networks quickly and easily. They know that the Enterprise companies are far more heavily protected and takes a more sophisticated skill set to break into their resources. The small to medium sized business however does not spend the time and resources for the proper protection and are much easier target.
According to a recent study done by TrendMicro…
71% of cyber-attacks occur at businesses with under 100 employees.
The average cyber-attack costs a small business $34,604.
Nearly 60% of companies go out of business within six months of a cyber-attack.
44% of small businesses suffered at least on cyber-attack in the past 12 months, of those, 52% were attacked more than ones.
Other Key Stats...
61% of SMBs were the target of a Cyberattack in 2021.
75% of SMBs could not continue operating if they were hit with ransomware.
80% of all hacking incidents involve compromised credentials or passwords.
55% of people in the U.S. would be less likely to continue doing business with companies that are breached.
So what can you do to protect your small or medium sized business from this problem? Here are a few recommendations…
Do not open emails that you suspect could be malicious.
Do not click on links or download attachments coming from a source that you do not know or that you suspect in any way.
Do not go places on the internet that are potentially unsafe.
Back up your data on a regular basis in multiple locations (onsite and offsite).
Use strong passwords and change those passwords on a regular basis.
Update your Operating System, web browsers, plugins, etc on a regular basis.
Try not to use un-encrypted WiFi networks in public places if possible.
Implement security measures such as antivirus software and a firewall.
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