Small Biz Ignores The Cyber Threat

Small businesses may be a prime target for cyber thieves, but according to new research, small business owners are not only unprepared for these attacks, they’re also not proactively looking to fix this issue.

Reports Wednesday (Nov. 11) said Nationwide’s latest study revealed 80 percent of small business owners are operating without a cyber attack response plan. That’s despite the fact that most of them have already been the target of a cyber attack.

In surveying 500 small business owners in the U.S., Nationwide found that nearly half (46 percent) feel that the cyber protection software they’re using is sufficient in safeguarding the company against these types of threats. Further, 40 percent said they don’t believe their company is facing a threat at all.

[bctt tweet=”46 percent of SMEs feel that the cyber protection software they’re using is sufficient”]

“We’re still in the state that ‘it won’t happen to me,’” said Nationwide Associate Vice President Tony Fenton, according to reports in The Columbus Dispatch. “Maybe they don’t perceive themselves as a target. But a look at the research shows that they are as much of a target as a large company.”

In fact, some research suggests that SMEs may be even more of a target than large corporations for cyber attacks – for the very reason that SMEs aren’t expecting to be targeted.

Analysis from Symantec released earlier this year found that 60 percent of all cyber attacks on businesses in 2014 hit SMEs.

Interestingly, Nationwide found that while a significant portion of small business owners don’t feel their business is under threat, and nearly half feel they are adequately protected, nearly three-quarters of them said they are concerned about a cyber attack, with 63 percent reporting being victim of an attack.

The proliferation of these crimes has also created a large market for insurance against cyber attacks. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the cyber insurance market is set to reach a $7.5 billion valuation in annual premiums by the end of the decade.

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