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CybersecuritySecurity NewswireCybersecurity News

Cybersecurity is the second highest business concern for SMBs

By Security Staff
Half open laptop with colorful screen

Tianyi Ma via Unsplash

April 2, 2025

Research by VikingCloud revealed that a successful cyberattack would force nearly one in five small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to close their doors. For nearly a third of SMBs, a cyberattack with minimal financial impact – less than $10,000 – would cause them to shut down.

As a result, cybersecurity (48%) has emerged as the second highest business concern for SMBs, with inflation/rising costs (67%) at the top, and recession/reduced consumer spending (46%) also a significant issue.

Sixty percent of SMBs recognize they’re the most likely target for cybercriminals. Yet, there are concerning gaps in their cyber defenses, such as self-managing cybersecurity or relying on untrained family members or friends (74%), having outdated cyber technology (33%), or no access to technology at all (20%).

Eighty percent recognize they have cyber vulnerabilities, and yet they use easily hackable passwords with a pet’s name, a series of numbers, or a family member’s name (23%), never back up their data (16%), and don’t require multi-factor authentication (14%).

SMB tech stacks include the basics like antivirus software (50%), network scanning (47%), and firewalls (44%). But few are equipped for modern threats and haven’t deployed endpoint security (29%), dark web monitoring (22%) and penetration testing (18%). In addition, 32% lack the budget to hire more cyber staff, and only 15% hired an internal IT person or outsourced to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP).

Wi-Fi or network disruptions (52%), phishing texts and emails (48%), and fake social media accounts or website domains (32%) were the most common cyber disruptions faced in the past 12 months. SMBs are also a growing target for malware (24%), denial of service (19%), deepfake attacks (19%) and ransomware (14%). 

SMBs are also twice as likely to be unaware they’ve been breached by more sophisticated attacks, like a deepfake, compared with more common threats like network downtime. The risk of business downtime (55%), loss of customers (36%), and lower sales (22%) from cyberattacks are keeping SMB owners up at night.

KEYWORDS: cyberattack cybercriminal multi-factor authentication ransomware small and medium business (SMB) security

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