Unfortunately, cyberattacks are at an all time high. They occur every minute of every day and they affect all persons and companies. However, not all companies are protected in the same way. SMBs face far greater threats and have a far great recovery time from these incidents due to the following 4 reasons:
- Smaller and less skilled IT staff
Most SMBs lack the funds that many enterprises have in order to properly secure their networks. There are many points of entry for a cybercriminal into a network and for all those points to be properly protected is expensive. It also requires many different security platforms that require expertise in the management of those programs which is difficult for a small or inexperienced IT staff. The lack of funds to properly protect integral systems, smaller IT staffs and less experienced staff leave SMBs at a disadvantage when a cyberattack happens as the recover is costly and often network requires security experts.
- Lack of cybersecurity training
SMBs often have many facets of their business to prioritize before cybersecurity training. Many cannot afford the cost or the time for the proper training to be provided to their employees. As cyberattacks evolve at a more rapid pace, the importance of continuous training is of even more importance to every business. It is crucial that all end users be able to identify threats by knowing what to look for and how to address each of the different situations they could encounter.
- Ransomware affects SMBs differently than larger businesses
Many cyberattacks, regardless of how they enter your network, involve some sort of ransomware. And while an enterprise-level company might suffer for a short time, they are usually able to pay the ransom or even have a ransomware insurance policy and have proper backups and staff in place to recover quickly. But an SMB could be unable to afford the ransom, or, even if the ransom is paid, the downtime could be even more costly. It should be noted that backups are the best way to recover quickly from ransomware.
- The internet never forgets
If your SMB is unlucky enough to suffer a cyberattack where personal or client data is exposed, the blow back could be enough to cripple your businesses’ reputation. Media coverage of breaches almost always blame the businesses’ security policies (or lack thereof) on the data loss which causes customers to lose trust in the business. This leads to clients moving their services to another business and many SMBs to have to close their doors. It is also important to note that if your business is required to keep compliance with legislation such as HIPPA, SEC, or GDPR the fines could also have a huge impact on your financial stability as well.
Contact OnPar Technologies for information regarding backup/disaster recovery, cybersecurity simulations and training, and other security opportunities at [email protected].
