By Paul Hohlbein , President, BTIS
The
numbers don’t lie. Cyberattacks on small-to-medium-sized
businesses (SMBs) are growing in severity and frequency.
In 2021, according to the financial information website Fundera, SMBs experienced a whopping 424%
increase in cyber breaches during 2020, costing businesses more than
$2.2 million in losses and causing 60% of companies to permanently close
their doors within six months after experiencing an attack. Shockingly,
although many SMBs realize that they have a lot to lose if hit by a
cyberattack, approximately 88%
of owners surveyed acknowledge that their company remains vulnerable to
a cyberattack.
“A
common misconception for small businesses is [the] idea
of security through obscurity, that your business is too
small to be a target. Unfortunately, this is not the
case.”
Source:
Expert
Insights
According to the Small Business Association,
SMBs are attractive targets because they have information that
cybercriminals want and typically lack the security infrastructure of
larger businesses. The SBA goes on to note that learning about growing
cybersecurity threats and trends can help businesses better understand
where they may be vulnerable to an incident, allowing them to
proactively improve their cybersecurity efforts to better mitigate
risks.
The top five security threats facing SMBs this year are:
1.
Phishing: 90%
of all data breaches can be attributed to phishing.
2. Malware: 47%
of all malware attacks in the U.S. are aimed at small companies, and
today malware remains the second-biggest threat to SMBs.
3. Ransomware: 80%
of SMBs don’t employ data protection or email security, and that
makes them easy targets for cybercriminals.
4. Compromised passwords: 81%
of data breaches are due to poor password security.
5. Insider threats: 60%
of U.S. businesses experience more than 30 insider threats each
year.
“The
future of small businesses depends on whether they
choose to know the trends in cybersecurity or remain
ignorant of
them.”
Source:
Everyday
Cyber
Cybersecurity
Trends for 2022
The
following are cybersecurity trends that will continue to
impact SMBs in 2022, according to the website Everyday Cyber.
Remote work risks will increase. More employees
working from home have left SMBs with inadequate security
protocols and particularly vulnerable to a cyberattack.
The Internet of Things will increase exposure
opportunities. The increased use of electronic
devices, such as smartphones, tablets and inventory trackers
by employees, has created more points of entry for
cybercriminals.
Cloud service threats will grow. As more SMBs utilize
the cloud, it will be increasingly vital for them to
establish secure encryption and authentication security
measures, along with proper configuration and audit logging
when using cloud services.
Multifactor authentication will be a must. Multiple
layers of security on all systems and devices will increase,
helping prove the user’s identity and deter
hackers.
Data privacy will become a discipline. Data privacy
discipline will no longer assume a passive role, with more
SMBs creating a data privacy management system that includes
the use of security tools to prevent data loss and repel
cyber breaches.
Artificial intelligence will aid in cybersecurity
efforts. AI is being widely used to help SMBs better
track and establish threat patterns and malicious cyber
behavior.
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