CFOs Get A Break From Hackers

Research shows that small and medium-sized enterprises are most vulnerable to cyberattacks, but the latest findings suggest that the CFOs and money managers at these businesses are getting a little break.

CFO researchers found that the number of CFOs experiencing a cyberattack over the last two years has dropped; less than one-fifth of CFOs surveyed said they had been a victim of a hack in the last 24 months. The data from the study was published on Tuesday (March 15).

The 22 percent of SME CFOs that reported falling victim to such an incident is a far cry from the 42 percent of financial managers at larger corporations that said the same.

Still, for businesses of all sizes, cybersecurity remains a top priority, researchers found. For 57.5 percent of SMEs, cybersecurity is among their top 10 business concerns; for 4.3 percent, it’s their number one concern.

Nearly four in 10 CFOs at smaller companies said they plan to increase spending on cybersecurity over the next year; less than 3 percent said spending in this area will go down.

Still, larger corporations are reportedly ramping up their efforts to protect themselves more than their SME counterparts. CFO found that that 62 percent of CFOs at large businesses plan to increase investment in cybersecurity over the next 12 months.

With regards to the type of data that businesses are most concerned about protecting, nearly one-third cited the personal information of their customers, slightly more than the 31.4 percent that cited financial losses as their biggest concern following a cyberattack.

The majority of SMEs told researchers that they have conducted employee training to increase awareness of cyberthreats; only one-third, however, said they have a response plan in place, compared to the majority of larger corporations.