43% of Cybercrimes Target Small Businesses - Are You Next?

Cybercrimes cost UK small companies an average of £894 in the year ending February of 2018. Small businesses are an easy target for cybercrooks, so its little surprise that around about 43% of cybercrime is committed against small businesses. According to research conducted by EveryCloud, there is much more at stake than a £900 annual loss, with six out of ten small businesses closing within six months of a data breach.

Damage to a small company’s reputation can be difficult to repair and recover from following a data breach. Since the GDPR data privacy law came in force in May 2018, companies face significant financial sanctions from regulators if found negligent in safeguarding personal information. Add in the potential for civil suits the potential costs start mounting up fast, which could even turn into a business killer.  Case in point is political consulting and data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which went under in May 2018 after being implicated with data privacy issues related to its use of personal data held on Facebook. However, most small businesses taken out by cyber attacks don't have the public profile to make the deadly headlines.

Most big companies have contingency plans and resources to take the hit from a major cyber attack, although major cyber attacks prove highly costly to big business, the vast majority are able to recover and continue trading. Working on a tight budget, small businesses just doesn't the deep pockets of big business. Cyber resilience is not a high priority within most small businesses strategies, as you might image business plans are typically very business growth-focused.

Cyber resilience within small businesses need not be difficult, but it does involve going beyond installing antivirus. A great starting point is the UK National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Essentials Scheme, a simple but effective approach to help businesses protect themselves from the most common cyber attacks. You’ll also need to pay attention to staff security awareness training in the workplace.

Every employee must ensure that the company is protected from attacks as much as possible. It’s your responsibility to make sure that everyone understands this and knows what preventative measures to put in place.

It may cost a few bob, but getting an expert in to check for holes in your cybersecurity is a good place to start. They can check for potential risk areas and also educate you and your staff about security awareness.

We all know the basics, but how many times do we let convenience trump good common sense? For example, how many times have you used the same password when registering for different sites?

How strong is the password that you chose? If it’s easy for you to remember, then there’s a good chance that it’s not as secure as you’d like. If you’d like more tips on keeping your information secure, then check out the infographic below.