Cybercriminals Don’t Discriminate Based on Company Size

Last year, a staggering 76% of organizations were targeted by ransomware attacks. Out of those, 64% fell victim to the attack, and only 50% managed to retrieve their data after paying the ransom.

Bad Actors Don’t Care What Size You Are

While many small and mid-size businesses assume they’re too small to be in the crosshairs, this isn’t the case. Cybercriminals are opportunistic and are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities, regardless of company size.

Think about it from the criminal’s perspective. They will take thirty $1M ransoms over one $30M ransom all day long because the work, the effort, is much simpler. For this reason, cybersecurity efforts around threat detection and response needs to be a priority.

10 Reasons Cybercriminals Target SMBs

While large company breaches dominate news headlines, such as casino giant MGM, adversaries are just as likely to target small or mid-size businesses. Indeed, bad actors perceive them as easier, more vulnerable targets for several reasons:

1. Supply Chain Attacks: SMBs can be a stepping-stone for attackers looking to breach larger partners or clients, leading to more significant breaches (and payouts).
2. Outdated Systems: SMBs may be slower to upgrade and update older software applications and hardware to newer, more secure versions, making them more susceptible to exploits.
3. Strategic Timing: Adversaries intentionally pick times when it’s difficult for a lean IT team to respond, such as overnight hours or a holiday weekend.
4. Trust Relationships: Small organizations may trust 3rd-party vendors and applications without thoroughly vetting their cybersecurity practices, providing potential entry points for attackers.
5. Data Mismanagement: Cybercriminals know that SMBs may not have well-defined data protection and retention policies, making it easier to access sensitive information and harder to recover.
6. Lack of Awareness: SMBs may not be as informed about the evolving threat landscape and cybersecurity best practices.
7. Lower Legal Consequences: Smaller organizations may be seen as softer targets with less legal and regulatory scrutiny, making them attractive to cybercriminals.
8. Limited Resources: SMBs often have limited IT budgets and resources, making them less capable of investing in robust cybersecurity measures on a continuous basis.
9. Weaker Security: Smaller businesses may lack the sophisticated security measures and dedicated cybersecurity experts that larger corporations have in place.
10. Limited Training: 93% of attacks come through email. Smaller companies may not invest in employee phishing awareness training, leading to more risk of human error.

If you have the perspective that “I’m not big enough for these guys to target,” you need to shift that perspective immediately. With more than a 50/50 shot of being attacked, SMBs need to adopt the same cyber-mindset as the big companies. That said – you don’t have to buy a bunch of threat detection and response tools and hire a big team to create a robust defense.

Small But Secure: Managed Security for SMBs

You didn’t get into business to be a cybersecurity expert, but we did! Staying ahead of threats requires a cohesive solution, 24×7 proactive human eyes on glass, and a singular focus: reducing nefarious dwell time.

At DataEndure, our ability to eradicate adversaries before they can take your business down is unprecedented. While the industry average for dwell time is 6 months, we decrease dwell time to just 6 minutes.

Let’s begin with our complimentary economic roadmap. We’ll take into account the tools you’ve already invested in, identify security gaps, and deliver a budget strategy to get you from where you are today to a mature security posture that can keep pace with the adversary. Schedule a meeting today.