If you are thinking, “Oh, no. Not another article about ransomware,” you need to read the rest of this report.
CNN broadcasted a segment on July 27, 2017, informing viewers why small businesses in particular should be very concerned about potential ransomware attacks. The broadcast stemmed from the release of the “Second Annual State of Ransomware” study conducted by Osterman Research.
The Damage Is Often Worse Than the Ransom
In an earlier newsletter we shared the pervasiveness of ransomware. No one is immune from ransomware attacks.
The common mindset of small business owners is that ransomware protection is a priority for major enterprises as opposed to SMBs.
As it turns out, small businesses are at great risk and, proportionately, have much more to lose, according to the Osterman data. The greatest potential for SMB loss is not the ransom itself, but the damage resulting from the intrusion.
- 16% of SMBs experienced operating downtime of 25 hours or more. Some were hobbled by more than 100 hours of downtime.
- 93% of those (15% overall) suffered a loss of revenue due to the downtime.
- 22% of SMB victims of ransomware attacks were unable to recover and subsequently had to close their doors.
Small Businesses Lack Adequate Reserves
“Cash reserves” is a standard business term that is seldom heard in the SMB realm. Small businesses typically operate on a small amount of capital. It is rare when small businesses include cash reserves in their budgets. The cash reserves set aside by their larger “cousins” do not make them less vulnerable to ransomware attacks, but they do help to mitigate the consequences of the aftermath of an attack.
Small Businesses Lack Adequate Resources
According to the report,
- 27% of SMBs could not identify how their systems were accessed.
- 33% reported the malware infection had spread to multiple network devices before being detected.
- 64% of attacks in the U.S. were perpetrated by infected email attachments or links.
Small businesses seldom have the IT infrastructure of corporate discipline to ensure that their systems are adequately protected and that their employees are complying with company rules regarding internet security. For a variety of legitimate reasons, many SMBs do not have a disciplined way of keeping their digital security up to date.
Guarding your technology takes an awareness of potential dangers and a few, common-sense steps to ensure the safety of your data and devices, not the least of which is having regularly-scheduled system and software audits by digital security professionals.
Tech Sentries is as concerned about your computer system security as you are. Your computer system security is our business. That’s why Tech Sentries is always on duty. Contact us today to learn how we can help you “GUARD YOUR TECHNOLOGY” (843-282-2222).