Any competent Managed IT security company will always state that when it comes to cybersecurity measures, no one is exempt from needing protection, no matter how small the company. Barracuda Network presented a report showing that small businesses are 3x more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks than bigger organizations.
In its report, it mentioned that it analyzed the emails of various companies and discovered that a small business with fewer employees would most likely witness 350% more social engineering attacks than larger companies. Hackers employ sophisticated methods to get at their victims. Contrary to what many business owners believe, hackers no longer wait for traditional threats before they can carry out an attack. Business organizations must align themselves with this reality and work in its direction.
Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigation Report state that about 43% of cybercriminals’ activities are targeted at small businesses. Small and Medium-sized businesses are often victims because of negligence. While many large organizations will conduct ongoing employee security awareness training and implement cybersecurity measures to keep their organizations safe, SMBs often feel no hacker will look in their direction.
Unfortunately, these criminals seem to be aware of what goes on in the minds of these small business owners and take advantage of the thinking that “we’re too small for a hacker to bother with.” This is why the number of security breaches in small businesses is rising. The figures mentioned above are surprising. Anyone would ask; Why would cyber criminals pay attention to small businesses?
Here we’ll be discussing why small businesses are targeted more than larger ones.
4 Reasons Small Companies Are Targeted More Than Larger Ones
1. Small Businesses Pave the Way for Bigger Businesses
As strange as it may seem, small businesses allow hackers to defraud larger organizations. Sometimes, larger organizations contract small companies to take care of their needs. A small business may be providing payroll, accounting, or marketing services for a larger organization. This business relationship between the two makes it easy for hackers to obtain information about more prominent companies by breaching the smaller one, which often has fewer protections.
2. Weak Security System
Hackers would be delighted to be able to break the safeguards of any organization without encountering hurdles. This is what small businesses offer. Cybercriminals are smart enough to realize that larger companies are security conscious. This implies that larger companies will not leave any stone unturned in protecting the company information.
Most times, small businesses use cloud services to protect their data and don’t properly configure their account settings. Hackers can often gain access to these cloud services through a compromised employee account. Smaller businesses often do not have the required knowledge or the resources to protect their sensitive data, unless they are working with an outsourced IT provider.
3. Spear Phishing
Many small business owners are not aware of cybercriminals’ tactics to defraud unsuspecting individuals. The absence of this technological know-how is what makes employees of small businesses fall victim to spear phishing. Cybercriminals use dangerous new phishing trends to send emails to individuals using the email address of someone they know.
This way, the cybercriminal can introduce a malicious link into the email and often have the recipient fall for the ploy. The uninformed employee may reveal personal or sensitive information to the scammer acting under the guise of another person. Hackers can use this means to hack the company’s network and compromise its information. Hackers can masquerade as another individual to carry out dangerous activities. Unless employees are aware of this tactic, small businesses continue to be targeted by cybercriminals. Lax password practices and lack of employee security training are usually contributing factors.
4. Small Businesses Have Data Hackers Want
No matter how small your company may be or the industry you work in, you still have data that hackers want and can make money from. This includes things like payroll records, customer information, and even your own company data and emails. These details include an employee identification number, health information, and bank details.
When hackers get hold of this information, they use it to the organization’s detriment. Surprisingly, hackers may not have any need for the information. They often prefer to sell out to third parties who would use it for anything it serves. Additionally, a ransomware attack can mean a pay-out for the attacker, even if they target a smaller business. Companies that aren’t prepared with a quickly restorable backup, will often opt to pay the criminal so they can regain operations.
Get Help Protecting Your Small Business from Hackers
Small businesses incur many costs when there is a security breach in the system. Aside from the fact that the company may bear some losses, business activities are also reduced. This is because security breach always brings about delays in business operations. Various strategies can help protect small businesses from the activities of hackers. At Managed IT Asia, we employ multiple techniques to secure your Singapore business. Contact us to schedule a consultation. Reach out online or call +65 67488776.
MANAGED IT ASIA, we are an IT Support, IT Solutioning and Managed IT Service Provider specializing in serving Small Businesses across Asia. Call us at +65 6748 8776 and let us manage your Small Business IT today!