For SMBs, a single cyber-attack can be their end

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The news is about hacker criminals only when it happens to a big company. As a result, there is a common mistake among many business leaders; they believe to be very far from hacker attacks since they run small and medium-sized businesses. That is costly to deal with the consequences of hacker attacks, especially if it is against any small business. The following shows, why SMEs are more susceptible to hacker attacks and what catastrophic consequences can an attack bring.

Reasons why small and medium-sized companies are in danger:
Hackers mostly are not seeking fame, but money. Therefore, they attack SMBs that do not always have a clear and robust cybersecurity strategy. CEOs of small businesses tend to think that cybercriminals will not attack them because they are not dealing in billions of dollars.
However, hackers are looking for the easy targets to get money. There is no easier target than this business without a formal cybersecurity plan. That is easy to understand when you realize that; 58% of malware attack victims are small businesses (1).
Besides, now hackers face many difficulties in attempting to attack a large organization; Larger firms have the budget and the apparent need to protect their networks. On the other hand, SMBs do not always put their mind to cybersecurity the way they should, and this is attractive enough for cybercriminals.
Concisely, SMEs executives should be aware that their businesses are regarded as valuable opportunities for the hackers. Of course, as they also have essential customer data, they remain at risk of hacking, even if they are not as big as other companies are.

For SMBs, a single cyber-attack can be their end:
Nowadays, cybercrime is a huge business, and it is growing incredibly. Cyber-attacks are the fastest growing crime in the U.S., and they are increasing in size, sophistication, and cost. As a mid-sized r small company, you do not want to be the next victim. Especially that 60% of SMBs cannot clean up after a hack, and their businesses are unable to keep up more than six months following a cyber-attack (2).
Other stats says that in 2017, cyber-attacks cost small and medium-sized businesses an average of $2,235,000. It may look like a small number comparing to these numbers – we read in the news – if a hacker hits a large organization. However, the big company can afford it, but for a small business, this small amount can write the end. What are other direct or indirect consequences that can affect your work? There are many, and they range from loss of customers to remediation, business disruption, loss of customers, damage to the brand, and identity theft repair to name just a few.

In the end, this is an old and naïve idea that you think you are far from hackers, or you do not need system security. If you still do not believe me, let me tell you that 60% of small business say attacks are becoming more severe and more sophisticated (3).
“Prevention is better than cure,” say Romanian doctors.
It is undoubtedly crucial to avoid the costs associated with cyber-attacks regardless of the size of your business, but the good news is that blocking hackers should not be complicated or expensive. You can consider security measures which you can take to protect your network.

As for SMBs, if they have the intention to secure themselves, their challenge will be of course much more straightforward than for big companies.

The best way to defend is to attack, so you need to check your system security by performing a penetration test periodically.
Additionally, always remember that hacker tricks are developing daily and just one vulnerable point can be all they need to access your system.

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