As Thanksgiving and Black Friday approach, so does Small Business Saturday. On this day, people flock to small local businesses to offer their support to the foundation of the economy. But there are others flocking to small businesses that don’t have good intentions – hackers.

In this day and age, cyber attacks are a risk for everyone and anyone. We’ve all seen headlines in the news about cyber attacks. Some of the world’s largest companies like Sony, Adobe and NASA have fallen victim to hackers. You’ve likely experienced a breach of your own (shoutout to Limewire for giving my desktop computer a virus, circa 2001). 

Small businesses are most likely to suffer following cyber attacks. Hackers see small businesses as easy targets because smaller businesses often-times do not have the infrastructure, training, or bandwidth that larger companies have at their disposal. A March 2022 survey conducted by Digital.com concluded that 51% of small businesses do not have security measures in place in case of a cyber attack. Many small businesses believe that they’re unable to afford IT services or feel they don’t have the time to protect their infrastructure. 

To add fuel to the fire, the US Securities & Exchange Commission found that within six months of experiencing a cyber attack, 50% of small to midsize businesses are forced to shut down.

The US Small Business Administration has identified that employees engaging in work-related communications are a leading cause of small business data breaches. 

Being unprepared for a cyber attack poses an extreme risk for businesses of any size. Internet safety training should be high on any small business’s priority list, in order to ensure that safe and defensive decisions are being made when using business assets.

Cyber Security for small businesses is accessible. 

INE can help small to midsize businesses develop the skills necessary to protect their critical infrastructure, build or maintain their networks, and migrate to the cloud. Whether you are looking for training for an individual employee, your IT team, or entire organization, our customizable Business plans provide all of the tools you need to stay on the cutting edge of the latest technologies.

To learn more about how INE Business Solutions can solve your business’s IT training challenges, request a free demo of our platform. 

Sources cited:

https://digital.com/51-of-small-business-admit-to-leaving-customer-data-unsecure/ 

https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/cybersecurity-challenges-small-midsize-businesses

https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/strengthen-your-cybersecurity