Cyber Security and SMEs: the facts
The risk of cybercrime and security breaches are greater than ever before. From state-backed hackers and financially-motivated cybercriminals to simple negligence and unintended mistakes, security risks come in many guises.
And it’s often cited: it’s not a case of ‘if’, but ‘when’ it happens. As an SME you may be thinking that the threat is much more real for larger, enterprise- level businesses. Unfortunately, as the Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime, The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP in A Call to Action – The Cyber Aware Perception Gap, states, “A large proportion of the public and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) vastly underestimate the risk of cyber-crime and feel powerless to protect themselves against it.”
A reality check
According to the National Cyber Security Centre, there’s approximately a one in two chance if you’re an SME that you’ll experience a security breach at some point. In fact, the Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2019 states that around a third (32%) of businesses experienced ‘cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months’ whilst SME insurance company, QBE puts the figure at 52% for small businesses and 66% for medium companies.
QBE also states that cybercrime costs UK businesses £20bn a year... And smallbusiness.co.uk reports that a small business could expect an average cost of £65,000 to £115,000 in the worst cyber-attacks. Regardless of the stats you look at, it’s clear the risks are real and the stakes are high for SMEs if they don’t safeguard their business. Ignoring the issue or not putting the appropriate measures or systems in place in no longer an option.
Impact on business
Running out-of-date or end-of-life (EOL) software is just one of the major risk factors when it comes to security and cyber threats. Out-of-date browsers can also open up a business to vulnerabilities. After the WannaCry outbreak in 2017– which hit more than 160,000 computers around the world – BitSight researchers found that more than 67 percent of the computers affected by WannaCry were running Windows 7.
Security breaches and cybercrime can break trust. That means potential business partners could look elsewhere, with your customers and clients flocking to your competitors too. From damaged reputations and negative reviews to hampered operations, the list goes on and it doesn’t stop there. For some SMEs, it could mean going out of business.
Taking GDPR as an example, Aon’s Chris Mallett commented in Business Matters, “Although fines are expected to be issued as a last resort, they can be up to €20 million or 4 percent of annual turnover.” He goes on to say, “The risk presented by non-compliance with GDPR has the potential to bring a small business to its knees.”
This is backed up by Joe Collinwood, founder and CEO of CySure, who told Computer Business Review, “Research conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance revealed that 60 percent of hacked small and medium-sized organisations go out of business after six months.”
The way ahead
According to Gartner, “By 2022, cybersecurity ratings will become as important as credit ratings when assessing the risk of existing and new business relationships.” That means potential partners, businesses and your prospective clients may well be checking on your security credentials before they even consider working with you. The time to consider how robust and secure your key systems and software solutions are is now.
The message is clear: security and cybercrime can’t be ignored. Alongside having crisis procedures in place, SMEs need to ensure that their systems are kept up-to-date with the latest security features, patches and upgrades to mitigate the risk. By migrating to cloud-based software with a trusted provider you can ensure that applications are continuously maintained and monitored to maximise protection.
At Access, our cloud-based software is built using the latest world class technology, providing the highest levels of performance and security. With the path to cloud migration being easier than ever before, it’s time to protect your business and make the move to the cloud.
