Cyberattacks could close down SMBs

New research from Webroot, the Smarter Cybersecurity® company,  reveals that almost half of UK small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) believe a cyberattack would put their business at risk of closure, and 48 per cent of businesses report they have had to deprioritise activities that would help grow their business to address cybersecurity. 

 

The report, titled “Size Does Matter,” details the challenging climate for UK SMBs in a time of rapid political, economic and social change. Second only to Brexit, cybersecurity threats are the biggest source of uncertainty. As a result, SMBs are spending almost an entire working day (18% of their time) a week on cybersecurity related tasks.

 

Almost half (48%) having suffered a cyberattack or data breach in their lifetime, with over one in seven saying this happened more than once. Of the businesses that had been targeted, 70 per cent were used as an entry point into a larger enterprise system they supply to. Nearly half (48%) of the cases negatively impacted relationships, with almost a quarter (22%) admitting they are no longer a supplier as a result.

 

Additional Highlights from Webroot’s SMB research:

• UK SMBs see clear business benefits to cybersecurity investment. Over half (52%) believe investing in cybersecurity drives innovation, and 58 per cent believe it increases productivity. Nearly one third (28%) say cybersecurity could increase their revenue and attract new customers.
• There is a clear opportunity for SMBs to use their size to their advantage. Nearly two-thirds (64%) believe that being smaller enables their business to react more quickly to industry or political change than larger enterprises. Three-fifths (61%) think their employees are quicker to flag potential cybersecurity issues than at larger enterprises.
• Yet, 40% believe cybersecurity policies and threats restrict SMB growth more than larger enterprises