Many of us have seen some of the world’s BIGGEST brands, Facebook, eBay, Target, Equifax, become victims to cyber attacks over the past few years. But while these attacks garner a lot of media attention, the reality is that most victims of cyber crimes and data breaches are actually small and medium sized businesses.
For small business owners, the idea of being hit by a cyber attack such as ransomware or denial of service is unpleasant and perhaps even daunting but many of us just cross our fingers and tell ourselves ‘it won’t happen to me.’
Unfortunately, that’s not what the numbers tell us.
The Cost of Cyber Crime
Did you know that cybercrime costs the economy over $1 BILLION each year?*
And the statistics are getting worse. According to Norton’s 2017 Cyber Security Snapshot, 1 in 4 Australian small businesses have fallen victim to cyber crime (this is up from 1 in 5 in 2016).
Almost 1 in 5 small businesses back up their data no more than monthly, but more than 1 in 3 businesses don’t think they’d last a week without their critical information!
If a small business experiences a cyber attack, it costs them on average $6,600 each time they’re attacked. We note ‘each time’ because according to a recent FireEye report, more than half of organisations that were targets of a significant cyber attack were targeted again within 18 months (and this trend is increasing).
For Australian businesses that employ 100-500 employees, the cost is upwards of $1.9 million if hit by a cyber attack, according to research released this week by global cyber security firm Webroot.
What Can You Do to Prevent Cyber Risk From Ruining Your Business?
Here are four ways you can help mitigate cyber risk in your business:
- Do your research and get both a security software solution and a data back up system.
- Keep these systems up to date – one of the biggest reasons that cyber attacks are successful is that your devices, routers, operating system, software or applications weren’t kept up to date with the latest versions and patches which can leave you with security vulnerabilities.
- Educate yourself and your team – employees are another large risk opportunity, make sure you and your people use security best practices such as learning how to spot email scams and using strong (and regularly changed) passwords.
- Consider adding a cyber insurance policy to help cover your business for financial losses resulting from cyber attacks.
If you want to get a free quote for your cyber risk insurance solution, contact us today.