Cyberattacks Hit 66% of Small and Medium Businesses Last Year

Health IT Security is reporting on two separate security reports, one from Kaspersky and the other the Ponemon Institute-Keeper report, showing 66 percent of small to medium-sized businesses suffered cyberattacks last year.

The reports also showed that the cost of cyberattacks is on the rise, with a malware incident costing some $2.7 million on average. In spite of that, just 12 percent of organizations were concerned with a malware attack.

Similarly, SMBs bear the brunt of phishing and web-based cyberattacks. Some 72 percent of those polled had experienced at least one cyberattack, with 53 percent reporting a phishing or social engineering attack, 50 percent a web-based attack and 39 percent reporting a general malware attack. To make matters worse, 60 percent said the attacks they experienced were sophisticated in nature, indicating that SMBs are increasingly being targeted.

Despite the sobering picture, the Keeper report showed that response times have not improved. Just 26 percent of SMBs have decreased their response time, while 39 percent reported response times had increased.

“SMBs are also at risk because most of them (70 percent of respondents) do not have a comprehensive inventory of all third parties with whom they share sensitive and confidential information,” researchers wrote. “Without this information, they are unable to conduct assessments to ensure their third parties are taking steps to safeguard their sensitive and confidential information.”