For small and medium sized companies (SMBs), a cyber attack that would be a miniscule blip on a larger corporation’s finances could ultimately ruin the SMB. These days, it’s common to hear about the large data breaches that have affected large corporations, but what we rarely hear about are the small and medium sized businesses that are being targeted for their sensitive information. The fact is that small and medium sized corporations are being targeted more often than larger corporations because they have smaller cybersecurity budgets, so it becomes easier to gain access to sensitive information at those SMBs.
Today, the average number of cyber attacks on small and medium sized businesses is about 4,000 per day. A report has found that each attack will cost the business $400,000 on average to recover, but there are some things that are nearly impossible to recover from, like reputational damage.
Despite the SMBs being targeted at an abnormal rate, the risk of a cyber attack can be reduced in a few ways. It’s essential for the company to have a response plan in place if they were attacked that will help limit the exposure of sensitive information. Along with that, every employee in the business should be using a secure password manager that will encourage using different passwords for every platform, which will in turn strengthen the security of the company. And the most effective way to secure the company from cyber attacks is by educating all employees on the potential effects of a cyber-attack, how human error can allow a criminal access to sensitive information, and the responsibility that each employee has to stay up to date with basic cybercrime education.
Business owners are led to believe that, due to their company’s size, they are not being targeted for cyber-attacks, but unfortunately that misconception can cost them greatly. Having a plan and standard operating procedures when it comes to information security within the organization will help secure the organization and limit the exposure or downside to cyber-attacks.
LibertyID is the leader in identity theft restoration, having restored the identities of tens of thousands of individuals without fail. If you retain personal information on your customers, now it is the time to get data breach planning and a response program in place with our LibertyID for Small Business data breach defense program. With LibertyID Enterprise you can now add value to existing products, services, or relationships by covering your customers, employees, or members with LibertyID’s fully managed identity theft restoration service—at a fraction of our retail price—with no enrollment and no file sharing. We have no direct communication with your group members–until they need us.
Call us now for a no obligation proposal at 844-411-LIBERTY (844-411-5423).