Your Business Is Not Too Small for a Cyberattack

Small business owners wear a lot of hats. They’re often company leaders, communicators, marketers, and financial managers – and that’s just the start. According to a Salesforce report, small business owners take on an average of 4.2 roles, although most of us don’t need a report to tell us that. We see and experience it firsthand.

That’s the nature of running a small business with a tight budget, but this approach poses challenges, too. If you’re wearing many hats, none of them fit or function properly. A couple of those hats might even tumble off without you even noticing.

The result: important roles are only getting a fraction of the attention that they deserve. A big one that often gets overlooked is IT.  

Technology is prevalent in every business these days, whether you’re building an app or shipping salsa made from a secret family recipe. From your company devices to billing software to the security of your customer data – your business relies on functioning and secure IT.  

But IT tends to reside on the back burner – you've got a business to run, after all, so making do with glitchy devices and old-school platforms is just the way it is. Besides, as a small business, no hacker is going to waste their time messing with your company data, right?  

Wrong.  

The data on small business IT and cybersecurity speaks for itself. Here are some numbers that highlight the importance of secure IT, no matter how big or small your business is.  

Despite the importance of IT, 27% of small businesses do not have IT support. They’re essentially winging it – and risking a lot. With no help desk to call when systems crash or IT team to patch and back up, they’re losing time and dealing with headaches.  

Also alarming, 3 out of 4 small businesses say they don’t have the personnel to address IT security. That makes them vulnerable to an attack, and unable to respond should one occur.  

But how likely is a cyberattack on a small business?

More than half of small business owners believe they’re too small for a cyberattack. But the reality is: 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses.  

No business is too small for an attack.  

Small businesses are hit hard when they experience a cyberattack. 60% go out of business within six months following a cyberattack. A lack of proactive security, preparation, and a disaster plan makes recovering an uphill battle. 54% of small businesses don’t have a plan in place for reacting to cyberattacks.

When a small business is on a tight budget, one cyberattack could be enough to put the business underwater.  

On average, cybercrime costs small or medium-sized businesses more than $2.2 million a year. If it doesn’t put the business out of business, it’s still a monster hit to the bottom line.  

But even if a small or medium-sized business owner wants to get ahead of an attack, they often don’t know where to start.  

47% of small businesses say they have no understanding of how to protect themselves against cyberattacks.

That’s where we come in. We know how to protect businesses from cyberattacks and implement a recovery plan should one take place (no business is ever 100% protected). And we’re dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses.  

Want to learn more about protecting your business and gaining the IT support you need? Reach out to us.

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