Why Small Business Are Facing More Cybersecurity Threats

In 2016, details about Yahoo’s massive data breach emerged. It was big news. These days, it’s not uncommon to hear news about a big corporation that’s been hacked.

Do you know what’s not in the news? The fact that small businesses deal with these cybersecurity threats just as often as the big companies – if not more. The latest data indicates that close to 50 percent of all cyberattacks now target small businesses.

You might be wondering why any hacker who values their time would target small businesses running on shoestring budgets instead of going after the corporations with the big money. Well, turns out there are plenty of reasons hackers target small businesses.

Here are some of the top ones.

Small Businesses Are Easy Targets

Let’s say you were a burglar. Would you prefer to break into a big home with a big steel wall around it or a small home without any fence? As much as there could be more valuable items in the big home, you wouldn’t waste your time trying to break through a steel wall. The small home without any tough security measures is more attractive even though there might be nothing of great value in it.

Online hackers come from the same school of thought.

Although the mechanics of performing a data breach are different from those of breaching a physical wall, the approach to security is similar. Most big companies have implemented the toughest cybersecurity defense systems. They have firewalls that can detect and thwart attacks easily. It takes a sophisticated hacker, often relying on a loophole, to break into the systems.

On the other hand, most small companies aren’t serious about cybersecurity. It’s not strange to find a small business website without HTTPS encryption, for example. Hackers make easy meals out of these small companies because they don’t have strong cybersecurity defense systems.

Small Businesses Can Be Used to Target Larger Businesses

Sometimes hackers can attack a small business to gain access to a larger business.

Hackers know that large companies are big on cybersecurity. But, some of these companies do business with smaller companies and as a result, the smaller company gains access to the bigger company’s systems. For example, when a big company outsources its digital marketing to a marketing agency, the agency can gain access to confidential data and systems.

So, if a hacker knows this, they can try hacking the smaller business. They can gain access to passwords used to access the bigger company’s systems.

Untrained Employees

Employees can be a company’s weakest link in cybersecurity.

You see, it won’t matter how advanced your cyber defense systems are if you have an employee who easily falls for a phishing email simply because they don’t know how to identify and treat such an email.

While big companies have invested in cybersecurity training for their employees, small businesses are lagging behind. Hackers know this, which is why phishing attacks are common among small businesses.

Employee training is one of the most important cybersecurity tips for small businesses.

Protect Your Small Business from Cybersecurity Threats

Gone are the days when protecting your business was just about ensuring physical security. Today, there are many cybersecurity threats your business faces, which means you must take cybersecurity seriously as well. And now that you know why hackers love small businesses like yours, don’t hesitate to take action.

Explore our blog for more small business insights.