Small Businesses vs. Cybersecurity Threats

Start-ups and SMBs have always ignored all cybersecurity threats, assuming that hackers don’t have time or money to focus on them. But, the reality states something completely different as pointed out by firms offering Cybersecurity Consulting in California. A recent Ponemon study found that small businesses are the #1 target for hackers, with 61% of SMBs experiencing an attack within the last 12 months and 54% of those involved in customer information.

Not only the above, but Forbes Magazine also states that 57% of the small business owners feel that they will not be a target for such an attack. The 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report also shows that 43% of all the data breaches are on small businesses, and the primary cause for this is their false sense of security.

Why do Hackers target SMBs?

From a profit point of view, if a person is only interested in making some money by collecting data, targeting small businesses would make the most sense as their cybersecurity practices are not good, and they stay entirely unprepared to counter an attack. While on the other hand, targeting a large-scale company with its cybersecurity division would be completely similar to searching, “Which company is best for cybersecurity services?”

A research article published on Cision PRWeb further justifies this behavior as 23% of SMBs don’t use any security device. In comparison, 32% rely only on free solutions, and most of them disclose that they don’t train employees enough to counter cyberattacks.

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Why are SMBs unable to protect themselves?

Being a small or medium business is a challenge in itself. A small business deals with a shortage of funds while a medium business deals with the lack of talent, obstructing their growth at every turn; hence when it comes to setting up an entirely new division in which neither the company nor the employees have experience, it is natural to be fearful.

Also, this is not the only thing. Setting up a cybersecurity division can take a long time and resources while also requiring continuous indulgence of the company administrators in the daily operations, all due to inexperience. It has also been noticed that most companies start their cybersecurity division and soon shut it down because they cannot justify the costs incurred regularly for salaries and operations.

Recovery Costs from a Cybersecurity Attack

An expert of an IT consulting firm in California claims that recovery from a cybersecurity attack is a very varied situation. In some cases, only a tiny ransom amount will do the job. In contrast, some attacks render the company liable for all the user data leaked in public, the repairs for hardware damages, resulting data losses, etc. Similarly, a report published by Coveware states that the typical average recovery cost, including the ransom and all other replacement and repair costs, stands somewhere over $84,000. This cost increases by the day as the attacks become more threatening and the data recovery rates drop nearly to zero percent, making cybersecurity a matter of importance.

“It is also noteworthy that 60% of small businesses that have suffered a cybersecurity attack tend to go out of business within six months from the impact, and this is just a tragic way for the organization or a profession to end their career after aiming for the top of the market,” an IT cybersecurity specialist exclaims.

How can SMBs Protect themselves?

There are not a lot of paths for SMBs to take when it comes to protection from cyberattacks as even most of the paid tools available online are not great for complete safety from cyberattacks. In such cases, where the SMBs get stuck in the thought of setting up their cybersecurity division, the cost of which can often be very overwhelming, they feel like they don’t have any other solution instead of being exposed to the cyber threats.

This assumption in the era of modern solutions with the trend of outsourcing is obsolete. There are a surprising number of expert agencies for Cybersecurity services California. They provide multiple cybersecurity solutions based on the company’s demand with a team of experts carrying years of experience and professional-grade resources.

What is the best plan for your company?

Selection of the cybersecurity plan should be made keeping various requirements in mind and with the assistance of IT experts. Now, stated below are four steps to selecting a cybersecurity plan that will keep hackers out of your business:

1. Determine your organizations’ cybersecurity status by getting an audit performed by cybersecurity experts.
2. Note all company’s digital assets that can be candidates for protection and arrange them based on priority and value.
3. Identify the critical cybersecurity requirements of your company while including the proper backup and recovery plans.
4. Negotiate with your selected agency in costs of those specific needs keeping in mind your budget and investment you plan to make in this endeavor.

Therefore, go with the best Cybersecurity Consulting in California and save your money, time, and business altogether. You really can’t ignore the need for cybersecurity in the era of rapidly growing cyberattacks with the surprising increase in them after the Covid-19 pandemic.

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