FINAL WORD
They have less protection
and resources
Not only do these organisations have much
of the same valuable information as larger
companies, but they typically have fewer
security controls in place, or might be
relying on legacy systems that are no longer
supported with regular updates, or that
cannot share threat intelligence in order to
identify and respond to threats at the digital
speeds today’s attacks require.
Part of the reason is that SMBs do
not have the same level of resources
and expertise to devote to securing their
network as enterprises. While larger
enterprises can hire full teams to support
cybersecurity initiatives, SMBs simply
lack the budget. This makes it easier for
cybercriminals to bypass more basic controls
to gain access to their networks.
They have less training
Finally, these organisations often do
not have the same level of training or
awareness of cyber-risks. For example,
66
SMBs are increasingly a
target for cyberattacks.
only 40% of SMBs have formal protocols
in place in the event of a breach and 42%
are unsure which security measures they
should have in place for cloud use. While
larger enterprises may have security
professionals who can provide this insight,
the cybersecurity skills gap has priced many
smaller companies out of this possibility.
The opportunity for partners
The SMB market is actively seeking to
increase its level of cybersecurity, and
needs a knowledgeable, reliable partner
to help them evaluate their security
requirements and determine which controls
they need to invest in to maximise the
value of the limited budget dollars they
have to spend. Fortinet offers a variety
of security solutions that are specifically
designed for SMBs and their main concerns
of losing consumer data, losing consumer
trust, suffering reputational damage, and
being out of compliance with regulatory
standards due to a successful cyberattack,
and with the best price/performance and
functionality value in the market.
Fortinet partners are trained to determine
a business’s security needs based on the
answers to a few simple questions, such as
the number of employees in the organisation,
how many devices each employee connects
the network, and what sorts of applications
and cloud services they are running.
Final thoughts
SMBs are increasingly a target for
cyberattacks. As a result, as they add
solutions to their stack they are wary of
the effect they will have on their level of
risk. Fortinet partners can assist these
organisations in finding the right level of
security for their individual needs to keep
them from suffering a data breach, while
harnessing the benefits of new technologies
to grow their digital business.