Cyber Threats (and criminals) don’t care that you’re a small business

by | Jul 27, 2017 | Articles, Cyber Security Opinion, Incident Response Management, Business Leadership

Every day, I talk to small business owners who think that Cyber Criminals won’t target them because they’re too small.  Many think that they’ve nothing of real value for Cyber Criminals to “go after”.  Others simply don’t realise the different risks to their systems and data that exist; they’re either too busy, or only hear about the cyber attacks on the NHS or big businesses, and think it’s all about bigger organisations.

Unfortunately, this is just naive.  Here’s a few reasons why:

  • Small businesses are typically less well protected than larger businesses and therefore “low hanging fruit” for cyber criminals
  • Data (particularly financial data) is of value and this is not always well controlled
  • Many cyber threats such as many ransomware variants are not specifically targeted; a small business is as likely to get hit as a larger businesses

A quick search on the internet will find  you plenty of statistics around the number of Small businesses subject to cyber attacks of some kind, and the impacts.  Some widely reported estimates reckon that something like 60% of small business go under within a few months of a Cyber Attack.

The good news is, there is plenty of free information around to help you improve your cyber security position and limit the risk to your business.  The NCSC site from the UK government is one example.  There are plenty of others.  Take a look.

Above all, if you own a small business, don’t be one of the reported 60%. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Prevention is far, far better than cure.  And doing something is better than doing nothing.  Start today.