Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing “industries” today, resulting in staggering costs to businesses worldwide. To illustrate this point, we’ve assembled some key cybercrime statistics in our updated infographic—How the World Was Hacked in 2019.
Here are a few highlights from our research, including the very scary fact that cyberattacks now cost businesses about $200,000 on average per incident, up from $117,000 in 2017.
Cybercrime Is Occurring At a Record High Rate
Did you know that 58% of cyberattack victims were small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in 2018? What’s scariest is how much this number has grown throughout the last decade—up from 43% in 2016 and just 18% in 2011.
And things are only going to get worse in the coming years, if the projections are right. What’s more, plenty of cybercrime goes undetected or unreported, according to cybersecurity experts, so the true crime rates against SMBs are likely even higher.
Small Businesses Are the Primary Target For Cyberattacks
While cybercriminals pose a substantial threat to all industries, the business sector still bears the brunt of most cyberattacks. Small businesses especially are key targets because cybercriminals know they are often much less secure than large corporations. SMBs are low hanging fruit.
Unfortunately, these businesses don’t tend to learn from past mistakes, either. Many small business leaders believe that once they have survived a cyberattack—note that 60% will not survive—that they have “done their time” and are now safe. Last year, 44% of SMBs that experienced a cybersecurity issue reported two to four individual events!
These facts surely point to a serious need for enterprise-level antivirus software and other cybersecurity measures for even the smallest organizations!
Cybersecurity Preparedness Is No Longer An Option—It’s A Necessity
Against the growing threat of cybercrime, SMBs must take steps to protect themselves, or risk going out of business.
Investing now in defending your network, securing your email, and developing disaster recovery plans can save you from potentially devastating consequences later. According to the Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA), 95% of data breaches that happened in 2018 were preventable with better security protocols.
Interested in learning more about how to protect your network? Download our FREE ebook: What EVERY Business Owner MUST KNOW About Preserving and Protecting Their Network.
If you’re in the Lancaster, PA area, EZComputer Solutions is ready to help you protect your data, your employees, and your business against cybercriminals. Get in touch with us today and learn what we can do for you.