FINAL WORD
Many of your SMB customers store
data that is just as valuable to
cybercriminals as that of
larger companies.
D
igital Transformation is
occurring across all industries
as organisations adapt to meet
changing consumer demands
and the need for a more mobile
workforce. While this trend is largely
associated with enterprises, it has actually
been just as pervasive at small and medium-
sized businesses (SMBs).
In fact, a recent study commissioned by
Fortinet and conducted by Techaisle found
that 35% of SMBs say they are more reliant on
technology today than in the past three years.
Your SMB customers are increasing
their daily use of technology in order to
innovate, increase speed to market, remain
competitive and more. Technology use
allows these customers to expand their
business reach and capabilities into new
regions where budget or staffing restrictions
may not have previously allowed.
As a result, technology has become
critical across all lines of business, not just IT.
Software now facilitates sales and marketing
initiatives, communication and productivity.
In particular, your SMB customers are
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
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investing in the cloud and cloud-based
applications due to their scalability, lower
upfront infrastructure costs, and support of
a mobile workforce and customer base.
Cyber-risks for SMBs
While these investments in technology
bring many benefits to SMBs, they are not
without risk. Adding these solutions to the
stack increases the attack surface at a time
when cyberattacks are becoming faster, more
sophisticated and persistent. For your SMB
customers, a cyberattack is a high-stakes
situation, as reports show that 60% of small
businesses close within six months of a breach.
As organisations add technical
capabilities, they have to be aware of –
and take steps to mitigate – threats such
as ransomware, DDoS attacks, malware,
phishing, insider threats and more. SMB
leaders are aware of these risks and are
taking steps to invest further in security and
minimise their susceptibility to cyberattacks,
with 25% of small businesses and 62% of
mid-market businesses noting intentions
to increase their security budgets. The
challenge is, where is the most effective
place to invest those limited security dollars?
Why cybercriminals target SMBs
Your SMB customers’ concerns regarding
cyberattacks are warranted. Cybercriminals
have zeroed in on these organisations as a
focus area for three key reasons:
They have data
It’s easy for smaller organisations to think
they will not be targeted with a cyberattack
because of their size, especially considering
most breaches in headlines are at large
corporations. However, this is not the case.
Many of your SMB customers store data
that is just as valuable to cybercriminals
as that of larger companies, be it payment
information, healthcare records, or other
personally identifiable information.
Having this information makes SMBs
viable targets for attack. Furthermore,
because this data is so critical to operations,
smaller businesses are more likely to pay a
ransom to get this information back in the
event of a ransomware attack.
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