“Adversaries are not just targeting prized assets like customer and employee data, intellectual property, and corporate secrets. Cybercriminals also recognize that smaller companies are a vector into the networks of larger corporations. Some notable attacks on large companies last year were traced back, in part, to smaller business associates that had been hacked. A 2013 study conducted by PwC on behalf of the UK Government BIS Agency found that 87 percent of small businesses had been compromised, up 10 percent from the previous year. Many companies are now mandated by their larger partners to improve their threat defense. Regardless of size, organizations have legal and fiduciary responsibilities to protect valuable digital assets.”
Source: Midsized Companies, Supersized Network Security Needs | SecurityWeek.Com