Small Businesses Prime Targets for Cyberattacks: Key Signs & Defense Strategies

In the wake of prominent cyberattacks targeting major entities such as casinos, tech giants, and power grids, there is a common misconception that small and midsize businesses are less susceptible to such threats.
Approximately 52% of small and midsize businesses and 71% of midmarket firms experienced ransomware attacks in the past year.
56% of small and midsize businesses and 88% of midmarket firms faced various other forms of cyberattacks.
Dismissing the assumption that cyber adversaries only target large corporations may lead to overlooking crucial signs indicating otherwise.
Cyber threat actors strategically exploit their knowledge of specific industries to launch targeted attacks on entire classes of enterprises.
Businesses falling victim to ransomware attacks tend to fall into two categories: those that comply with the ransom demands and pay, and those that refuse.
Once threat actors discern a company's willingness to pay, research indicates an 80% likelihood of a second attack, with the ransom amount typically escalating.
Cyber adversaries often prioritize smaller businesses due to the lower level of effort and risk involved.
Smaller enterprises typically possess limited security resources, lower security awareness, and fewer security tools and processes.
Notably, only 32% of employees in small and midsize businesses understand phishing, and merely 15% have received security awareness training.
Threat actors exploit these vulnerabilities to operate stealthily within the network, causing more prolonged and damaging impacts.
Addressing cybersecurity concerns in today's complex threat landscape requires a proactive approach.
Collaborate and Share Threat Intelligence: Coordinate with industry peers to prepare organizationally and technologically for potential attacks.
Learn from Attacks and Stay Informed: Stay abreast of security research and advisories provided by vendors, analysts, and government organizations.
Understanding the tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by threat actors enables businesses to fortify their defenses.
Seek recommendations from peers and security partners on valuable information sources.
Implement Security Basics and Engage with Managed Security Service Providers: Focus on fundamental security measures such as patching, email security, secure domain name system configuration, and browser security.
Consider working with managed security service providers to enhance visibility into your environment.
Regular security awareness training for employees is essential to bolster the human side of cybersecurity.
By comprehending their tactics, implementing basic security measures, and fortifying your security posture, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to cyber threats.


This Cyber News was published on www.cysecurity.news. Publication date: Tue, 26 Dec 2023 18:13:06 +0000


Cyber News related to Small Businesses Prime Targets for Cyberattacks: Key Signs & Defense Strategies

Cybersecurity Training for Small Businesses - The importance of cybersecurity training for small businesses cannot be overstated in today's increasingly digital world. In conclusion, cybersecurity training is essential for small businesses to protect themselves against cyber threats. There are ...
8 months ago Securityzap.com
9 Best DDoS Protection Service Providers for 2024 - eSecurity Planet content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More. One of the most powerful defenses an organization can employ against distributed ...
11 months ago Esecurityplanet.com
Small Businesses Prime Targets for Cyberattacks: Key Signs & Defense Strategies - In the wake of prominent cyberattacks targeting major entities such as casinos, tech giants, and power grids, there is a common misconception that small and midsize businesses are less susceptible to such threats. Approximately 52% of small and ...
10 months ago Cysecurity.news
Cloud Security Best Practices for Businesses - In today's digital landscape, ensuring robust cloud security is a crucial priority for businesses. The increasing reliance on cloud services to store and process sensitive data necessitates organizations to adopt best practices to safeguard their ...
9 months ago Securityzap.com
The Top 6 Cybersecurity Threats Businesses Must Tackle in 2024 - Through the rise of Artificial Intelligence, increased cyberwarfare and new emerging technologies, the security landscape has evolved significantly, with new threats emerging and existing ones growing in sophistication. Cybersecurity in 2024 is more ...
10 months ago Cybersecurity-insiders.com
Australian SMBs Faces Challenges in Cyber Security - The internet has turned into a challenge for small to midsize businesses based in Australia. As 60% of SMBs close following a breach, companies that are breached are likely to fail later. According to a recent report by ASIC, 'medium to large' ...
11 months ago Cysecurity.news
Securing Remote Work: A Guide for Businesses - This article aims to provide businesses with a comprehensive guide to securing remote work, covering the essential components of remote work security policies and exploring best practices for ensuring secure communication. By implementing these ...
9 months ago Securityzap.com
How A Strong Digital Culture Is the Foundation For Successful Metaverse Exploration - Businesses must become digital-first to understand the emerging realm of the metaverse and develop the innovations that will drive success there. A growing number of companies are shifting their strategies to include engaging with consumers in the ...
8 months ago Cyberdefensemagazine.com
Amazon Prime Video Ads 5 February - Adverts will start appearing for UK users of Amazon Video Prime on 5 February 2024, unless extra fee is paid. Amazon has confirmed that adverts will begin appearing for UK customers of the Amazon Prime Video service in early 2024. In an email to UK ...
10 months ago Silicon.co.uk
FCC adopts lead generation rules to protect consumer privacy - The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that aim to protect consumers against robocalls and robotexts from lead generation and comparison shopping websites and give consumers the ability to choose ...
9 months ago Techtarget.com
Cyber Insurance for Businesses: Navigating Coverage - To mitigate these risks, many businesses opt for cyber insurance. With the wide range of policies available, navigating the world of cyber insurance can be overwhelming. In this article, we will delve into the complexities of cyber insurance and ...
9 months ago Securityzap.com
Companies Must Strengthen Cyber Defense in Face of Shifting Threat Actor Strategies - Critical for organizations to understand attackers' tactics, techniques, and procedures. The 2023 mid-year cyber threat report card portends an ominous outlook with staggering data including the fact that 332 million cryptojacking attacks were ...
10 months ago Cyberdefensemagazine.com
How Main Street Businesses Can Up Their Cybersecurity Game - Small businesses are not only essential in keeping Main Street thriving and bustling, but they are essential to our economy. Unauthorized access to data has the potential for significant financial loss that can be difficult or impossible to recover. ...
5 months ago Cyberdefensemagazine.com
Customer compliance and security during the post-quantum cryptographic migration | AWS Security Blog - For example, using the s2n-tls client built with AWS-LC (which supports the quantum-resistant KEMs), you could try connecting to a Secrets Manager endpoint by using a post-quantum TLS policy (for example, PQ-TLS-1-2-2023-12-15) and observe the PQ ...
1 month ago Aws.amazon.com
Embracing offensive cybersecurity tactics for defense against dynamic threats - In this Help Net Security, Alexander Hagenah, Head of Cyber Controls at SIX, discusses the critical steps in creating effective offensive security operations and their impact on organizational security strategies. The first line of defense is often ...
9 months ago Helpnetsecurity.com
Business Data Backup and Recovery Planning - Data backup and recovery planning is essential in today's interconnected and data-driven business landscape. By understanding the significance of data backup and recovery planning, businesses can effectively protect their critical information and ...
8 months ago Securityzap.com
Third Of European Businesses Have Adopted AI, AWS - AWS finds AI already adopted at sizeable number of European businesses, resulting in increased revenues, productivity. An insight into the adoption rate of artificial intelligence within the business community has been offered in a new report from ...
9 months ago Silicon.co.uk
Understanding Each Link of the Cyberattack Impact Chain - It's often difficult to fully appreciate the impact of a successful cyberattack. Other consequences aren't so obvious - from a loss of customer trust and potential business to stolen data that may surface as part of another cyberattack years later. ...
11 months ago Securityboulevard.com
Disadvantages of Cyber Insurance - Cyber insurance provides financial protection for businesses in the event of a cyber attack. Despite its benefits, there are several drawbacks to consider before committing to a policy. Evolving Cyber Threats: The landscape of cyber threats is ...
5 months ago Cybersecurity-insiders.com
In the Crosshairs: Addressing Emerging Threats Through Adaptive Software Development - To counteract these ever-changing threats, organizations must adopt adaptive responses that can dynamically adjust to new challenges and vulnerabilities. This article zeroes in on the crucial intersection of adaptive software development and ...
7 months ago Cybersecuritynews.com
North Korean Hackers Behind Major Cyberattacks, Confirmed by FBI - The FBI released a statement confirming that North Korea was behind a series of major cyberattacks in the past year. It is the first time that the FBI has attributed such activity to North Korea. The attacks included intrusions into networks, ...
1 year ago Thehackernews.com
Marketing Strategies for PaaS Services: Get Ahead of the Curve - With the ever-growing demand for cloud-based performance and services, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is becoming increasingly critical for modern software development. PaaS is a cloud-based platform, providing businesses with an integrated suite of ...
1 year ago Hackread.com
Business Data Privacy Laws: Compliance and Beyond - Governments worldwide have implemented strict data privacy laws to protect individuals' information in the face of increasing cyber threats and data breaches. Let's dive into the world of business data privacy laws as we navigate the complexities of ...
9 months ago Securityzap.com
Product showcase: Protect digital identities with Swissbit's iShield Key Pro - In today's fast-paced business world, protecting digital identities and optimizing daily workflows are crucial. The iShield Key Pro series from Swissbit addresses these challenges by offering top-notch security combined with effortless usability. ...
4 months ago Helpnetsecurity.com
The State of DDoS Attacks: Evolving Tactics and Targets Businesses Must Be Aware Of - Now, these attacks are becoming more dangerous, targeted, and detrimental as they evolve. As DDoS attacks become more sophisticated, adversaries are able to hone in on the most vulnerable targets, ranging from small- and medium-sized businesses to ...
10 months ago Cyberdefensemagazine.com

Latest Cyber News


Cyber Trends (last 7 days)


Trending Cyber News (last 7 days)