Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being urged to take cyber security more seriously amid warnings that smaller firms are more vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Research published earlier this month found that almost half (48 per cent) of SMEs had experienced at least one cyber attack or data breach in the last 12 months – yet despite this, 12 per cent of SME respondents told the survey that they had no measures in place whatsoever to prevent or prepare for future attacks.
The figures, which come from British insurance company Hiscox’s Cyber Readiness Report 2017, suggest that many SMEs in the UK need to invest more time and money in cyber security.
When asked why businesses had no risk management measures in place, 39 per cent of small firms who had not taken precautions to protect against cybercrime said that they felt their organisation was “too small or insignificant for cyber security” – despite the study making clear that SMEs are now prime cybercrime targets.
Worryingly, separate research highlighted in City A.M. in recent days has revealed that many UK businesses have slashed their cyber security budgets by a third in recent times.
This is despite the fact that cyber attacks appear to be growing increasingly common and increasingly detrimental.