“Cybercrime is a simple concept where crime is aided by technology committed by humans against other humans.”
– Andrew Bycroft, CEO of iResilience
Every cybercrime, whether it be malware, ransomware, phishing, cyberbullying, pedophilia, or cyber terrorism, fits within the above definition.
Cybercrime interestingly is the most likely, yet at least understood threat to yourself and the business you work with.
There’s no doubt that cybercrime is highly profitable, but it isn’t reserved just for targeting the large enterprise. Being a small business might make you more likely to be targeted.
According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, the Internet’s economic impact has been most significant among “individual consumers and small, upstart entrepreneurs”.
The Internet allows even the smallest firms to have a global impact. What began as an obscure network for researchers and scientist a few decades ago has grown into an $8 trillion a year e-commerce enterprise connecting over two billion people.
As the use of the Internet grows, and new technologies such as cloud computing enable small to medium-sized business (SME) even greater technological advances, capabilities and online presence, the evolution of cybercrime is expected to grow as cybercriminals seek to exploit vulnerable businesses…and specifically against SME’s.
In 2019, cybercrime-related losses in Australia amounted to an average of $890,000 a day but costing the Australian economy more than $1 billion per year.
A recent study by security vendor Bromium and presented by Dr Michael McGuire at RSA revealed that cybercrime revenues total an estimated $1.5 trillion annually.
According to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, cybercrime is now a $US1 trillion problem for businesses worldwide.
Why Are SME’s Increasingly Being Targeted?
According to security vendor MailGuard, cybersecurity is one of the most significant issues facing business today – The number of security breaches has increased by 67% since 2014, with a cyber-attack occurring every 39 seconds, or on average 2,244 times each day.
Unfortunately, Internet security may not be SME number one priority when managing a business but neglecting the potential dangers could put them as serious harm.
One common mistake for business owners is assuming that their business is at a lower risk compared to other more substantial companies.
Contrary to this assumption, SME’s are at an equal, if not, higher risk to be the victims of cybercrime. A common reason for this is that their businesses may not have the budget, resources, the expertise and the experience that many larger firms have, often leaving them more vulnerable to malicious attacks.
As a result, small business attacks are increasing because they present cybercriminals with an easy way to gain access to highly valuable information – customer credit card records, bank accounts, supplier networks and employee financial and personal data.
By themselves, individual small businesses may not appear to present an overly attractive target. However, collectively small companies are a very lucrative target set due to the collective economic impact of small business.
And if for no other reason, SME’s account for the majority of employment within countries such as the USA, Australia, CANADA, UK, New Zeeland and more. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses make up 99.7 %of U.S. employer firms.
“The key to successful fishing is to fish where the fishes are.”
What Are The Costs That Can Hurt Your Business?
Regardless of which type a potential cyberattack may fall under, it could cost your business immensely. Here are areas of your business that potentially may be harmed.
Operational Impact: Loss of productivity and cost of external assistance by a service provider.
Physical Impact: Cost of repairing damaged goods. As well as the cost of replacing assets or even the cost of borrowing or renting equipment.
Personal Impact: Cost of counselling. Cost of hiring and cost of training. Cost of replacing people.
Legal Impact: Cost of penalties associated with contract, regulation & legal breaches. Cost of court cases.
Reputational Impact: Loss of revenue. Cost of PR & media. Cost of communications.
Financial Impact: Cost of stolen money. Cost of business value depreciation.
What Can You Do About It?
More than ever, sensitive data, intellectual property and personal information of small and medium-sized firms are targeted by an ever increasing and sophisticated community of cybercriminals.
With this in mind, common sense dictates business owners remain on their toes and mindful that they are one step away from being a potential cyber victim.
Cybercrime continues to be a force to be reckoned with. You may be thinking that the only kind of cybercrime you need to be concerned with is hackers getting their hands on your financial information…I wish it were that simple. There is a lot more to consider beyond just financial information. Cybercrime is an evolving area, with new dangers emerging.
Instead, it is a good idea to be armed with the right knowledge so that you can recognise cybercrime when you see it.
That’s why I wrote the upcoming book “How To Protect Your Business From Cyber Breach In Only 2 Minutes A Day”.
So, I have put it all together for you in this book. This book lays out the secrets for you in becoming cyber resilient in just 2 minutes a day.
And the best thing is, it is FREE. All you need to do is pay for shipment of the book.
To make sure that you get your copy of the book as soon as it is released is to let me know by clicking HERE
If you are struggling, concerned and somewhat fearful with your ability to adequately protect your business from cyber miscreants, hackers and the like, then this book is for you. All you need to do is let me know HERE.
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