Nearly half of UK businesses suffered data breach in 2017. | Figures show almost 50% of SMBs affected by security breaches. During 2017 almost 50% of small businesses suffered security breaches and cyberattacks. According to new research, data breaches have affected a majority of companies across the UK. The report from Kaspersky Lab found that nearly half (42 percent) of small-to-medium businesses suffered security breaches. The report also revealed that 20% of the countries charities had been affected last year. The Independent reported that the most common breaches or attacks involed fraudulent emails, viruses and malware. The attacks were further compounded by scammers attempting to impersonate organisations online.
UK businesses suffered security breaches resulting in unexpected havoc
Last year’s report revealed that more businesses suffered security breaches than ever before. Security experts stress ‘simple steps to remove basic weaknesses’ can make a huge difference to the protection of key data.
In a recent news feed, Tech Radar’s Mike Moore wrote:
The scale of the attacks is perhaps surprising given that the vast majority of SMBs surveyed by Kaspersky Lab claimed that they were protected against such attacks
More than 70 percent of businesses claimed they were well or “perfectly” equipped to protect their customers’ data from breaches. In retrospect, such a claim seems rather exagerated, to say the least. This apparent over-confidence resulted in loss of files, software and systems corrupted, and theft of money, assets and intellectual property. Of particular concern, is that 94 percent of SMBs are storing financial reports as well as personal data. According to Kaspersky Lab UK, 80 percent also store account numbers, and 78 percent storing payment card data. This data is held on companies servers, public clouds and employee devices.
Benefits and challenges of digital transformation
David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab UK commented:
Digital transformation gives small and medium sized companies new opportunities for growth, …But to ensure they are not adding a layer of vulnerability and risk into the organisation, it is vital to think about their security and that of the data they hold. As IT infrastructures become more complex, businesses can lose control over their data. To prevent growing organisations from falling victim to accidental breaches or planned attacks, IT security needs to become just as much a key to success as financial, legal and personnel considerations.
Sources and credits: The Independent, Tech Radar, Kaspersky Lab UK See more data breach news