Many small businesses believe they are more secure from cyberattacks than large businesses. Small business owners/managers of then think they couldn’t possibly have anything that a hacker could want. They think hackers don’t even knew about their small business, because it’s, well “small”.
A new report by cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks shreds this myth. Their report analysed millions of emails across thousands of organisations. It found that small companies have much to worry about with regards their IT security.
Barracuda Networks found something especially alarming. Employees at small companies saw 350% more social engineering attacks than those at larger ones. Barracuda defines a “small” company as one with less than 100 employees. This puts small businesses at a higher risk of falling victim to a cyberattack. We’ll explore why below.
Why Are Smaller Companies Targeted More Often?
There are many reasons why hackers see small businesses as low-hanging fruit. And why they are becoming larger targets of hackers out to score a quick illicit buck.
Small Companies Tend to Spend Less on Cybersecurity
When you’re running a small business, you’re often juggling where to prioritise your cash. You may know cybersecurity is important, but it may not be at the top of your list. So, at the end of the month or whenever cash at the bank runs short, it’s moved back on to the expenditure wish list.
Small business leaders often don’t spend as much as they should on their IT security. They may buy an antivirus program and think that’s enough to cover them. But with the expansion of technology to the cloud, that’s just one small layer. You need several more for adequate security.
Hackers know all this and so they see small business as an easier or “soft” target. They can do a lot less work to get a payout than they would trying to hack into an enterprise corporation.
Every Business Has “Hack-Worthy” Resources
Every business, even a 1-person shop, has data that’s worth scoring for a hacker. Credit card numbers, SSNs, tax ID numbers, and email addresses are all valuable. Cybercriminals can sell these on the Dark Web. From there, other criminals use them for identity theft.
Some of the data that hackers will go after:
- Customer records
- Employee records
- Bank account information
- Emails and passwords
- Payment card details
Small Businesses Can Provide Entry Into Larger Ones
If a hacker can breach the network of a small business, they can often make a larger score. Many smaller companies provide services to larger companies. This can include digital marketing, website management, accounting, and more.
Vendors are often digitally connected to certain client systems. This type of relationship can enable a multi-company breach. While hackers don’t need that connection to hack you, it is a nice bonus. They can get two companies for the price of one.
Small Business Owners Are Often Unprepared for Ransomware
Ransomware has been one of the fastest-growing cyberattacks of the last decade. So far in 2022, over 71% of surveyed organisations experienced ransomware attacks.
The number of victims who pay the ransom to attackers has also been increasing. Now, an average of 63% of companies pay the attacker money in hopes of getting a key to decrypt the ransomware. According to Gartner, only 8% of companies exposed to a ransomware attack manage to recover all their data.
Even if a hacker can’t get as much ransom from a small business as they can from a larger organisation, it’s worth the effort. They often can breach more small companies than they can larger ones.
When companies pay the ransom, it provides incentive and so more cyber criminals join in. Malicious types newer to ransomware attacks will often go after smaller, easier-to-breach companies
Employees at Smaller Companies Usually Aren’t Trained in Cybersecurity
Not typically high on the list of priorities for a small business and yet should be, is cybersecurity training. They may be doing all they can just to keep good staff. Plus, priorities are often sales and operations.
Training employees on how to spot phishing and password best practices often isn’t done. This leaves networks vulnerable to one of the biggest dangers, human error.
In most cyberattacks, the hacker needs help from a user. It’s like the vampire needing the unsuspecting victim to invite them inside. Phishing emails are the device used to get that unsuspecting cooperation.
Phishing causes over 80% of data breaches.
A phishing email sitting in an inbox can’t usually do anything. It needs the user to either open a file attachment or click a link that will take them to a malicious site. This then launches the attack.
Teaching employees how to spot these ploys can significantly increase your cybersecurity. Security awareness training is as important as having a strong firewall or antivirus.
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Article used with permission from The Technology Press.