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Small businesses bearing
the brunt of cyber crime
»»A NEW REPORT FROM THE
Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has
found that small firms are unfairly carrying
the cost of cyber crime in an increasingly
vulnerable digital economy.
The report, ‘Cyber Resilience: How to
protect small firms in the digital economy,’
suggests smaller firms are collectively
attacked seven million times per year,
costing the UK economy an estimated
£5.26 billion.
Despite the vast majority of small firms
(93%) taking steps to protect their business
from digital threats, two thirds (66%) have
been a victim of cyber crime in the last two
years. Over that period, those affected have
been victims on four occasions on average,
costing each business almost £3000 in
total.
Cyber crime costs small businesses
disproportionately more than
big businesses when adjusted for
organisational size. Currently the
responsibility largely falls on small
businesses to protect themselves. FSB is
calling for more support to be given to
those smaller firms least able to bear the
burden of the increasing global cyber
threat.
Almost all (99%) of the UK’s 5.4 million
small firms rate the internet as being
highly important to their business, with
two in three (66%) offering, or planning to
offer, goods and services online. Without
intervention, the growing sophistication
of cyber attacks could stifle small business
growth and in the worst cases, close them
down.
Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman,
said: “Small firms take their cyber security
responsibility very seriously but often
they are the least able to bear the cost of
doing so. Smaller businesses have limited
resources, time and expertise to deal with
ever-evolving and increasing digital attacks.
We’re calling on Government, larger
businesses, individuals and providers to take
part in a joint effort to tackle cyber crime
and improve business resilience.”
The types of cyber crime most commonly
affecting small businesses are phishing
emails (49%), spear phishing emails (37%),
and malware attacks (29%).
Small firms are also concerned about
hacking and fraud when the card is not
present, with the average information
breach setting them back 2.2 days.
To combat this, four in five small firms
(80%) use computer securing software, and
well over half (53%) perform regular updates
of their IT systems.
The FSB report also found room for
small firms to improve security. Currently
just a quarter of smaller businesses (24%)
have a strict password policy, 4% have a
written plan of what to do if attacked online,
and just two per cent have a recognised
security standard such as ISO27001 or the
Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme.
Mike Cherry added: “Small firms are
understandably focussed on building their
businesses and creating the jobs which
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drive economic growth. The vulnerabilities
of the digital world affect everyone and
the responsibility for improving resilience
should not be left to the group with least
resource to do something about it.
“Security is important, but given that an
element of risk will always be present when
operating online, resilience must also be
championed. Without a concerted effort to
reduce cyber crime and improve resilience,
small businesses could be at real risk.”
There needs to be significant
simplification and consolidation of
cyber security information provided by
Government. The National Cyber Centre
should become the hub for this , providing a
one-stop-shop for advice and guidance for
all small businesses alongside a determined
marketing effort to ensure businesses are
aware of it.
There should also be better incentives
for small businesses to encourage them
to invest in cyber resilience measures
and adopt best practice when it comes to
increasing their cyber resilience.
The law enforcement response to
cyber crime must be improved at the
local, regional, national and international
levels. There must be more investment
by the Government in law enforcement
resources to effectively tackle cyber crime.
Businesses should be encouraged to report
every crime and they must be reassured
that it will be taken seriously.
Source: FSB