Small business is now one of the most vulnerable hacker attacks spheres. According to CSID, two factors stay in the way of strengthening cybersecurity. They are a lack of funds and lack of awareness of the possible consequences of being compromised.
“Small businesses are increasingly at risk for cyber attacks and breach. According to a 2012 study conducted by Symantec, 31 percent of cyber attacks were aimed at businesses with 250 employees or fewer, compared to 18 percent in 2011. The Ponemon Institute recently reported that more than 50 percent of small-to-medium sized businesses experienced a data breach in 2012,” states CSID.
The company’s study claims about a quarter of small businesses cannot afford buying additional data protection services because of the small budget. 43% of respondents said they were satisfied with the current protection of computer systems. “Small businesses own a lot of sensitive data, but aren’t as prepared or knowledgeable about protecting it as they should be.”
According to the CSID, 55% of small businesses store social security numbers on their servers, 80% keep email-addresses and phone numbers of clients, and 70% - home addresses of its customers, employees and partners. Only 12% of respondents are ready to protect this kind of information from being compromised.
