12 Key Facts About SMBs' Cyber-security Needs
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12 Key Facts About SMBs' Cyber-security Needs
No company, big or small, is immune to a cyber-attack or data breach. New research suggests why SMBs need to up the ante when it comes to security protection. -
SMB Targets
55% of respondents said their companies have experienced a cyber-attack, and 50% had data breaches involving customer and employee information in the past 12 months. -
Biggest Threats
Top threats to SMBs are Web-based attacks, according to 49% of respondents, and phishing/social engineering (43%). -
Root Causes
The most common causes for cyber-attacks include negligent employees or contractors (48%) and third-party mistakes (41%). Almost one-third of respondents said they could not determine what caused the incident. -
Biggest Concerns
66% of respondents said customer records are their biggest concern, followed by worries about intellectual property protection (49%). -
Cost of Breaches
Companies spent an average of $879,582 due to the damage or theft of IT assets. Disruption to normal operations cost an average of $955,429. -
Low Confidence
Only 14% of companies rate their ability to mitigate cyber-risks, vulnerabilities and attacks highly effective, and 33% said the technologies currently used can detect and block most cyber-attacks. -
Security Defense
60% of respondents rely on strong passwords and/or biometrics to reduce the risks of attack. However, 59% do not have visibility into employees' password practices and 65% said that if they have a password policy, they don't strictly enforce it. -
Security Tech
Anti-malware (90%) and client firewalls (86%) are considered the most important security technologies, followed by password protection and management (71%), and VPN and other secure Web gateways (61%). -
Security Barriers
The biggest roadblocks to a stronger cyber-security posture include a lack of personnel to mitigate cyber-risks (67%), insufficient budget (54%) and insufficient security technologies (44%). -
MSSP Partners
As a result of the roadblocks, some companies engage managed security service providers to support an average of 34% of their IT security operations. -
Top MSSP Services
Top services MSSPs provide include monitoring or managing firewalls or intrusion prevention systems (74%), managing or monitoring security gateways for messaging or Web traffic (50%), and monitoring or managing intrusion detection systems (47%). -
Bigger Targets
52% of respondents believe cyber-attacks are becoming more targeted, and 51% said cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and more severe in terms of negative consequences.
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Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Small and midsize businesses need to understand that no company is too tiny for a cyber-attack or data breach and it doesn't matter what industry they are in. In fact, more than half of SMBs have been subjected to a breach in the last 12 months, according to a new survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Keeper Security. Additionally, only 14 percent of the 598 IT and IT security respondents polled rated their companies' ability to mitigate cyber-attacks highly effective. The biggest reasons cited for the lack of confidence are insufficient personnel, budget and technologies, along with a lack of leadership in terms of who determines IT security priorities. The survey also finds that the most frequent attacks on SMBs are Web-based and include phishing and social engineering breaches. One of the biggest problems SMBs face is a lack of control and visibility into employee password protection, which is believed to play a key role in security defense. One way SMBs can increase their security strategies and prevent cyber-attacks is by partnering with managed security service providers and other security solution providers. Here's a look at key takeaways from the study.