As a small business, you know the risks. You know the risks of what might happen should someone get food poisoning in your restaurant or injure themselves using a product you manufacturer. But do you know the true cost of cyberattacks on your small business?
If an outside threat was to make its way onto your network and begin pulling critical information, what would that cost you? Do you have a ballpark estimate? Probably not. Don’t worry, though; you’re not alone. Most small businesses are in a similar situation as you. That doesn’t mean you should sit on your hands and just find out when you find out. Here’s what you need to know about the cost of cyberattacks.
Understanding The True Cost of Cyberattacks
First, You Will Be The Target Of A Cyber Attack
Big companies make headlines when they are the victims of cyberattacks. Home Depot, Target, and others have all been front-page news stories due to data breaches. Chances are if you were to look up just about any big named business with regards to cyber-attacks, you’d probably find out they too were targets.
However, small businesses do not turn heads. When a mom and pop store is attacked and thousands of credit card numbers are stolen, it’s not as sexy as hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of numbers stolen. But just because you haven’t heard of small businesses being attacked doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
In fact, according to a report compiled by Verizon, 58 percent of all cybercrime victims in 2018 were small businesses. And of these small businesses, only 14 percent were prepared to handle such an event.
Why Small Businesses?
So why would cybercriminals turn their attention to small businesses when there are bigger fish to fry? All kinds of reasons. First, as indicated above, most small businesses are not set up to handle cybercrime. It’s basically the Internet’s version of a smash and grab. The criminal finds a weakness, takes whatever they can, and is out before this business knows what happened.
It’s also far easier to steal from small businesses than a large corporation. While hacking into a large corporation does offer major financial benefits, these companies are set up to defend against Internet-based attacks, so it is difficult to sneak past all the defenses. With the amount of time and energy it takes to infiltrate a Lowes or Walmart, a cybercriminal could easily steal the information from hundreds of small businesses.
And thirdly, it doesn’t take an expert cybercriminal to steal from a small business that isn’t protected. In fact, most amateurs can do it. They simply don’t have the skill even to attempt a major Internet heist, so they set their targets on the smaller businesses. In reality, you are a larger target than any of the big companies out there.
How Much Could It Cost?
Ultimately it will depend on the size of your business. If you have a larger client base, it will cost you more. A smaller client base, and it might not be as much. However, small business insurance provider Hiscox stated that the average loss for a small business due to cyberattacks stands at $200,000.
Think about that. Are you able to withstand a $200,000 blow to financials? If you think bringing on an expert IT professional is too expensive, you need to look at that $200,000 mark and think again. Even if you have some insurance coverage to protect against this kind of situation, you may find it difficult to claim funds from the insurance provider should they find out you don’t have adequate IT protection.
If you’re looking at that hefty financial blow and don’t think you could stay afloat with that number, you’re not wrong. Most small businesses are not able to remain afloat after that kind of financial attack. In fact, 60 percent of small companies that have been hit by a cyberattack go out of business within six months. That number only grows the further out you get.
You Need To Protect Your Business
It isn’t necessary to take the kind of gamble on zero cyber protection. It’s like having a bank vault on a street corner and leaving the door open for anyone to walk in. It’s just not smart.
Implementing protective solutions for your business will dramatically reduce the chances of you being attacked. Cybercriminals looking to smash and grab your online information will attempt to break through your firewall, and should they find they are unable to do it easily, most will continue. Again, they don’t want to waste their time cracking a firewall when they don’t need it. So having even basic protection will go a long way. But to ensure you are completely protected and have an optimized system, you will want to consult the professionals at Charlotte IT Solutions for these needs.
Protect Yourself And Your Business With The Right Cyber Security
As a small business owner, you need to prepare for every possible situation, starting with understanding the cost of cyberattacks. Nobody wants to think of a time where cybercriminals begin attacking their network, but you leave yourself and your customers exposed if you don’t. You need to avoid this and to protect your business with the right cybersecurity.
What’s right for you? A tailor-made cybersecurity system. You don’t want to use a cookie-cutter setup, which will still leave gaps in your protection. Network security is only as strong as the weakest link. The team at Charlotte IT Solutions is here to help you with this. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you run or even how long you’ve been in operation; Charlotte IT Solutions is here to help craft a protective barrier that will best defend your business from outside threats. All you need to do is give the staff a call or send an email at your earliest convenience.