550K+ Small Businesses Will Close in ‘17 Because of Cyber Security Breaches

More than half a million small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) will shut down in 2017 because of cyber security breaches, according to The Business Journals latest SMB Insight study.

While many small- and mid-sized business owners are optimistic about the future success of their companies, cyber security breaches are a looming threat that could spell catastrophe, according to the report.

Each year The Business Journals gather data from a national sample of small- and mid-sized business owners and use it to predict the “topic and trends that will matter most.”

You can download the free 2017 SMB Insights report, titled “2017 Predictions: Growth Industries and Locations, Plus the Topics that Will Matter Most, here.

According to this Business Journals’ story about the report, the biggest threat facing SMB owners could strike them by surprise.

Here are some of the takeaways from the report:

  • More than half a million SMBs will shut down in 2017 because of cyber security breaches, according to the report.
  • Forty-three percent of all cyberattacks target SMBs, but most SMBs do not have in-house experts to deal with breach issues.
  • The average recovery cost has risen to $36,000.
  • Sixty percent of SMBs hit by a cyberattack wind up closing their doors within six months of the breach.
  • In 2017, this could add up to 550,000 business failures.

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