It’s never a good experience to go through a hack and lose money or business opportunities (clients), let alone to get hacked again. Yet, statistics show that 39% of companies that were hacked, 66% of them got hacked again over the past 12 months, and even more concerning, 10% of that number experienced 10 or more attacks after getting breached in a single year [1], [2].
So why does this keep happening?
Small to Mid-Sized Businesses are a Prime Target
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to be more vulnerable to cyberattacks, often due to a lack of cybersecurity controls, a lack of awareness, and considerable reliance on third-party providers with poor security practices or knowledge. Hackers know many SMBs don’t have the people or tools to build strong defenses, which makes them a soft target for ransomware, phishing, and data breaches.
Once attackers have breached a company, they are now on the list of vulnerable targets. Cybercrime is a big business. Hackers often come back, using new tricks or finding the same old gaps that didn’t get fixed after the last breach.
The Fallout of Poor Cyber Hygiene
For SMBs, a cyber breach is not just about IT issues; it’s a business continuity crisis in action. The initial and follow-up attacks often lead to:
- Revenue loss
- Operational downtime
- Reputational damage
- Regulatory fines
- Customer churn
These problems can be even worse when the business outsources its cybersecurity to a managed service provider (MSP) or another third party without performing its due diligence. Often, they find that they have exposed themselves to even more risk after the fact. This can be due to some providers cutting corners by using weak passwords, leaving your computers open to the internet, failing to apply security updates, or using insecure tools and servers.
Prevention Requires Proactivity
We at IntelliSystems see firsthand how many of the data and computer breaches are preventable or at least could have been significantly reduced in their impact. A business's cyber resilience starts with an understanding of security as an ongoing process, and any business, regardless of size, needs:
- Regular cybersecurity risk assessments
- A well-defined incident response plan
- Ongoing employee awareness training with phishing simulations
- Strict vendor and third-party risk management practices
- Real-time threat detection and response
In the end, the data does not lie; cyberattacks are not isolated to just big businesses. They are impacting businesses of all sizes, and if or when you experience a compromise, the likelihood of facing another attack is very high.
IntelliSystems has over 30 years of experience serving small and mid-sized businesses, ensuring they are ready to face the modern and evolving threat landscape. Providing clients with a comprehensive blend of services enables them to address critical risks immediately. Our team members engage in ongoing consulting to ensure that both current and future threats are accounted for and effectively defended against. Contact us today for more details on how you can reduce your business risk by working with IntelliSystems.
[2] https://cybermagazine.com/cyber-security/companies-hit-by-an-attack-are-more-likely-to-be-hit-again
