Think You Are Too Small to Be a Target of Cyber Crime? Think Again.

• April 27, 2015
• Paul Neiffer

Cybercrime has been a hot topic in the news lately, and for good reason with organizations such as Target, Sony, Blue Cross, etc. falling victims. However, it is very common when we talk with smaller organizations that they don’t feel it is a threat from them because their businesses are small businesses.

I recently came across an article that shares some sobering facts that contradict this thought:

• 30% of all targeted cyber-attacks are directed against businesses with less than 250 employees.
• 1 in 5 of small businesses have already been the focus of a cyber-attack of some sort.
• The National Cyber Security Alliance states that about 60% of small businesses that are hacked will go out of business within six months.

One of the main reasons for attacking small businesses according to the article is simply because small businesses don’t have the IT resources larger companies have and it often falls to the bottom of the priority list, making small business easier targets and prime testing grounds for beginning hackers.

Here is an article from CliftonLarsonAllen recently that offers why an agribusiness would be a target and steps to take to protect yourself: Protecting Your Agribusiness From Online Hackers.

The main point here is don’t take the threat lightly, no matter how big or small your organization is. There are many easy ways to protect your business and many more resources available to help mitigate the risk.

Special thanks to David Enquist for this post.

Paul Neiffer, CPA

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