Cyber-Attacks Cost Small Businesses Nearly $9,000

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/technology-web/2013/09/17/cyber-attacks-cost-small-businesses-nearly-000/

Small businesses are becoming increasingly tech savvy, but limited
resources and knowledge still leave many vulnerable to cyber-threats.


A new survey from the National Small Business Association finds 84% of
small businesses today use laptops and 74% use smartphones, compared to 67%
and 57% in 2010, respectively.


Additionally, 60% of today’s businesses are allowing employees to
telecommute, compared to 40% in 2010.


But for many small businesses, a higher degree of tech-savvy means
additional challenges.


Twenty-seven percent of business owners maintain their website themselves
today, compared to just 9% of small-business owners in 2010. And doing so
places additional strains on the limited time of business owners who wear
multiple hats. Sixty-four percent of business owners find the time
necessary to update the website a major challenge, and more than a quarter
say the cost of maintaining the site is a big hurdle.

*
*

*Cyber-Attacks on the Rise*


“Forty-four percent say they have been the victim of a cyber-attack –
that’s high, and really concerning,” says Molly Brogan, the director of
communications for the NSBA.

Brogan says limited resources are also at play when it comes to
cyber-security.


“Small businesses may not be as tech savvy [as larger companies], or they
don’t have the staff to provide for a full-time IT person,” says Brogan.


Of the 44% of businesses that had experienced an attack, 59% say they
incurred service interruptions, and 35% say information was falsely sent
from their domain names. Nineteen percent say their website was taken down,
and 5% say sensitive information and data was stolen.


The average cost of a single cyber-attack came to $8,669.48, which can be a
big sum for a small business.


Brogan says small-business owners are also in the dark about the risks they
face with their small-business banking accounts.


While 73% of small-business owners report they have a high or moderate
understanding of cyber-security issues, only 25% are aware that their
business checking accounts are not protected by banks when it comes to
hacking, unlike consumer accounts.


“There’s a loophole where business accounts are not protected that way.
Businesses are expected to be savvy enough to protect their own cash flow,
and for Wal-Mart or Macy’s, that makes sense,” says Brogan. “But if I’m
Molly’s Cookies Company with one or two employees, your account is still
treated the same way the Wal-Mart account is, and I’m on the line for it.”


The survey found that for those whose accounts were hacked, the average
loss totaled $6,927.50.


The NSBA’s 2013 Small Business Technology Survey was conducted in August
and surveyed 845 small-business owners, including both NSBA members and
non-members.

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