Why Your Small Business Needs To Invest In Quality Cybersecurity

So, you operate a small business. Maybe you just started this business or maybe you’ve been at it for a couple of years. There’s a lot to think about; hiring employees, finding customers, paying bills – the list goes on. Have you thought about cybersecurity at all? Probably not. This is a mistake and a big one at that. The simple fact of the matter is that if you don’t start investing in cybersecurity NOW, the chances of your business failing are incredibly high.

Small Businesses are most at risk

Did you know that the US is the top target for hackers worldwide? This may not scare you, because there’s a TON of businesses in the US. Business owners face an almost endless array of cyberthreats, and your small business is no exception. Why would a hacker want to target a little mom-and-pop business when they could go after a big corporation with a lot of money? The answer is quite simple: Hackers love to target small businesses. Big corporations like Google or Amazon have tens of millions of dollars to spend on the best cybersecurity on the market. They have whole departments dedicated to preventing all kinds of different attacks. They offer comprehensive training to all their employees at every level. Does your company have those kinds of resources? Probably not. In fact, an overwhelming majority of small business owners report trying to handle cybersecurity measures by themselves. Put yourself in the shoes of a hacker. Who would you be more likely to launch an attack on?

Don’t believe me? Here are some statistics:

In 2015, 43% of cyber-attacks were targeted at small businesses.
More than 1 in 5 small businesses reported a data breach within the last 24 months, up by 17% from two years ago.
41% of small businesses said they’d suffered a breach that cost more than $50,000 to recover from.
95% of reported credit card breaches come from small businesses.
The average cost of recovery stands at $690,000.
All of this causes nearly 60% of small businesses to fail within six months of a cyber-attack. Yet, business owners still don’t invest in cybersecurity.
In fact, 58% of small businesses don’t consider cyber-attacks a threat.
Only 42% of small businesses spent money on cybersecurity protections in the last year.
Only 36% of small businesses have any data security policy.
Worst of all, roughly 83% of business owners don’t have any contingency plan for dealing with security threats at all.

At the end of the day, your business needs customers. If the customers don’t trust your business, you won’t have a business. About 30% of consumers surveyed by a major bank said they would “never return” to a small business that suffered a cybersecurity breach, up from 20% two years ago. These percentages are only going to rise.

What can you do?

Now, there is still hope. I’m not saying that you need millions of dollars to protect yourself and your business from cyber-attacks. There are little steps you could take first. Start with the most important, yet most vulnerable component of your company: the people. Most employees of small businesses simply don’t recognize or report the attack due to their lack of awareness. This can be fixed with simply training sessions. It’s also incredibly important to stay up to date. Most companies rarely update their cybersecurity plans if they even have one in the first place.

This may all be very overwhelming but that is where we come in. Aspis is a cybersecurity consulting firm based out of Kansas City, MO. We also have branches in Minnesota and Washington D.C., but we can help you WHEREVER you are. Aspis is more than capable to help with all the issues mentioned in this blog. Aspis is a cybersecurity consulting firm that delivers a business-orientated risk management-focused approach to solve complex cybersecurity problems. Our business is securing your business.

Set up a free consultation today to learn how we can help your business. Aspis Consulting is Kansas City’s leading cyber security firm. with offices in Kansas City, Duluth, and Washington DC Aspis can help businesses nationwide.

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