EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) at face value may not seem like especially high-worth targets, but SMBs are common marks for cyber attacks due to their often inadequate cyber security measures. For dogged threat actors, going after a series of SMBs can be extremely profitable.

Fifty-eight percent of SMB execs are more concerned about surviving a data breach than weathering fire or flood damage, according to Facility Executive. “In today’s digital age, businesses rely more heavily on their intellectual assets than physical properties- bringing cyber security to the forefront,” stated CEO Dave Wagner, of Zix Corporation.

This is consistent with the 2019 World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, which highlights cyber security as one of the top 5 risks that our global society must confront.

The statistics are staggering; a single data breach would likely force nearly 50% of SMBs to fold. The numbers become increasingly grim for SMBs in the financial services or insurance industries, with 71% reporting that a major breach would put them under.

Most SMBs assume that they are electronically secure, but reality paints a different picture.

In 2018, SMBs were the targets of 66% of all cyber crimes in the US. Despite the high probability of an attack, a mere 23% of SMBs have dedicated in-house IT teams that tackle security issues. Thirty-seven percent of SMBs use a mix of in-house and outsourced IT support, and an estimated 63% lack immediate cyber security monitoring.

It can take an average of 101 days for SMBs to discover a cyber attack, and there are many types of attackers, leading to ballooning remediation costs. In addition to the direct price of clean-up, businesses may incur regulatory fines, crippling lawsuits, higher insurance premiums, lost labor, and lost sales opportunities.

As an SMB, staying secure is more important than ever.

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