Although most of the attacks that make headlines pertain to large companies and organizations, a new report found that cyberattacks are costing small businesses in the US an average of $25,000 annually. The report was published by an international insurance company called Hiscox and it surveyed 6,000 cybersecurity professionals in the US, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ireland. The Cyber Readiness report was first created five years ago, with the most recent edition completed between November 2020 and January 2021.
The report revealed that 23% of small businesses in the US had been the victims of at least one cyberattack over the past year. More than a third of US small businesses reported that they do not fully disclose to all internal and external stakeholders when an incident occurs. The respondents also ranked their cybersecurity goals, with 20% of companies stating that they seek to comply with the security requirements of their business partners and 18% focusing on mitigating their own existing threats and vulnerabilities. Although there is typically less money per attack at stake in cyberattacks against small businesses, they often have weaker or less secure networks and are therefore attractive targets.
Read More: Cyber-attacks Cost Small US Businesses $25k Annually
