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Cybersecurity is a major concern for businesses of all sizes. It's essential for business owners to understand the current state of cybersecurity and the potential risks their company may face. These ten facts highlight some of the most pressing issues that every business owner should be aware of:
1) 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyber attack go out of business within six months.[1]
If you think your business can absorb the impact of a security breach and still survive, this fact might make you think twice. Cybersecurity in today’s world isn’t just about preventing an embarrassing or costly incident, it’s about protecting the very livelihood of yourself and your employees.
2) 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error.[2]
Employees make mistakes. Unfortunately, sometimes these mistakes can be as serious as falling for phishing scams or using weak passwords, which can lead to data breaches. This highlights the importance of employee training and education in order to reduce the risk of a breach.
3) The global information security market is expected to reach $170.4 billion by the end of 2022.[3]
This demonstrates the high demand for cybersecurity solutions as businesses seek to protect their data and systems from potential attacks. It also highlights the level of response needed to match the ever-growing threat that cybercriminals and malicious actors pose to businesses.
4) 88% of organizations worldwide experienced spear phishing attempts in 2019.[4]
Spear phishing attacks are targeted at specific individuals or organizations and are often more successful due to their personalized nature. It's critically important to educate employees on how to spot and avoid these types of scams.
5) 68% of business leaders view their cybersecurity risks as increasing.[5]
At this point, we’ve all received phishing emails and/or unsolicited suspicious phone calls from people claiming to be from “Apple Support,” “The IRS,” or whichever organization a scammer is trying to impersonate. Due to the constantly evolving nature of cyber threats and the increasing reliance on technology in the modern business world, we all need to be increasingly vigilant for how bad actors try to exploit that technology to infiltrate our businesses.
6) Only 5% of the average company’s shared folders are properly protected.[6]
A significant portion of businesses are at severe risk of data breaches due to a lack of proper security measures. It's essential to ensure that all sensitive data is properly secured to reduce the risk of a breach.
7) Data breaches compromised and exposed 36 billion confidential records in the first half of 2020 alone.[7]
Protecting your business's data has never been more important. Exposing proprietary or confidential information isn’t just a bad look for your company’s reputation, but it can also expose your business to lengthy, expensive, and potentially business-ending lawsuits.
8) There were 11,762 recorded major security breaches between January 1, 2005 and May 31, 2020.[8]
This highlights the sheer scale of the cybersecurity threat and the need for businesses to take action to protect themselves. Cybercrime is big business, and a robust approach must be taken to combat the threat that cybercriminals pose.
9) 37% of malicious email attachments are Word documents.[9]
Even email attachments that might seem as benign as .doc or .dot filetypes can bring you a click away from disaster. The next most dangerous filetypes are .exe files, representing 19.5% of malicious email attachments.
10) There is a cyber attack every 39 seconds.[10]
Weak or insecure usernames and passwords give hackers a much higher chance of success in making their attack successful. Best practices and security hygiene can help successfully repel these attacks and dramatically reduce the risk of a breach.
