When cyber attacks are reported on the news, you usually only hear about big enterprise companies like Walmart, Target, or Home Depot. While cyber criminals can gain a substantial amount of money from these high profile brands, many cyber criminals have shifted their focus to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In fact, according to Ponemon Institute, over two thirds of SMBs with 100-1000 employees experienced a cyber attack in 2018. 

So why is it that cyber criminals have turned their efforts to SMBs? It doesn’t make sense at first thought, but it’s actually more obvious than you think…

#1: SMBs can’t protect themselves as easily.

If a hacker can pull off a $11.3 billion dollar data breach at Target in 2013, they’ll have no problem coming after your small business. Although cyber criminals would see better financial gain from a large organization like Target, large companies like these also have the money to protect themselves. In fact, many big retailers like Target have teams of hundreds solely dedicated to preventing data breaches. Smaller organizations don’t always have the knowledge and resources to protect themselves, making them an easier target. In addition, smaller companies often manage their own cloud services for their online business, and not all cloud services use encryption services to protect data.  

#2. It’s easier to access personal data at SMBs.

As we stated above, hackers often target small business because there are fewer safeguards over personal or small business accounts. It may be easier for cyber criminals to hack into bank accounts, especially if your small business uses personal cards to pay for business expenses, or vice versa. Because there are a lesser amount of people in small organizations, there are less loopholes to work through. 

#3. They know employees are naive.

It goes without saying that cyber security training should be a standard in employee onboarding and beyond, especially for software companies. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Cyber security training should be conducted and updated regularly, ideally on a 6 month basis. While employees may have retained some of the information during onboarding, that knowledge quickly fades. Without cyber security top of mind, it’s easier for an employee to slip up by clicking a sketchy email link, or clicking on a pop-up. Again, large organizations have dedicated teams for this — making it more difficult for cyber criminals to infiltrate. 

Now that you know SMBs are targeted due to lack of finances, easy access to personal data, and lack of employee training and resources, you can take your next steps in preventing an attack. Even on a budget, cyber security isn’t something that should be overlooked. 

Your network is at the core of your business, so it’s important that your data remains private and secure for the protection of your customers and your business. Our cyber security network specialists can address active threats to your organization and prevent future hackers from threatening your business and information. We provide a variety of cyber security services, including security risk assessments, proactive incident responses, cyber security consulting, intrusion responses, and more. Visit our services page for more info, or give us a call today at (410) 453-9300.