Small and midsize businesses are increasingly becoming the targets of today’s complex cyber attacks. Hackers are going local in their efforts to steal credit card information from customers, striking at small businesses with as much frequency as retail giants.
Cybercriminals know there’s nothing small about SMBs. These businesses account for 54 percent of all U.S. sales according to the US Small Business Administration. And as we all learned from the recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, smaller businesses suffered data breaches more often than larger firms in 2014.
Eataly, the operator of more than two dozen high-end restaurants in New York, disclosed last month that the systems at its smaller Manhattan retail store had been breached. A malware attack on the store’s payment processing system enabled hackers to access and steal customer credit card information for several months. The company launched its investigation shortly after several employees, who also made purchases at the eatery, reported fraudulent charges on their cards.
“The disruption to our business, the extent of unanticipated costs and expenses, and the unwelcome frustration and concern caused upon our customers have all been, and continue to be, significant,” Eataly said in a statement.
Eataly’s data breach is just one example that shows no business is too small to be in the crosshairs. Cyber attacks offer low risk and high returns for criminals – especially because many non-enterprise businesses leave their guard down. Their networks are unprepared to thwart sophisticated attacks, which makes them easier targets than the big guys. Their data is every bit as valuable. The big difference is the cost of data breaches can devastate a small or medium sized business. According to the Ponemon Institute, business disruption alone can cost more than $937,000 per breach.
SMBs must get serious about cyber security. They need a multi-layered solution that can proactively detect and block intrusion attempts with real-time, coordinated measures.
To learn more about advanced attacks and how SLPowers can help protect your small or midsize business, contact us today.
Categories: Data Loss Prevention, Data Security, Employee Security Training, Internet Security, Malware
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