LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The next wave of cybersecurity threats are coming at small businesses with under 250 employees according to federal, national and regional statistics and activities. In fact, two-thirds of all businesses reporting an attack are small businesses, as shown in a recent CloudNexus infographic, compiled from current data.
The federal steps for small business protections underscore the need to act as well. President Donald Trump signed the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act, S. 770 into law on Aug. 14 underscoring the issues that are being seen. It requires NIST to “disseminate clear and concise resources to help small business concerns identify, assess, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risks.”
“Knowing that even the federal government is going to jump on board to assist small businesses has begun to underscore how vulnerable small businesses are today to attacks. That’s why we are spreading the word that managed service solutions for cybersecurity and custom solutions, depending on the industry, are now available through our company, CloudNexus,” said Jay Rollins, CEO and founder of CloudNexus.
CloudNexus reports seeing a higher incidence of malware this year. Small businesses account for 99.7 percent (Small Business Association national figures) of employers in the United States and as many as 50 percent [CNBC figures] of those have experienced a cyber attack. Small business websites have seen more attacks — 50 percent more often — than big business.
“It’s important to note that it takes an average of 146 days for a small business to know that there has been a cyber attack. By then, a lot of damage has been done and many can’t recover from these attacks,” said Rollins.
According to Verizon, about 60 percent of small businesses that are attacked simply close the doors because of the costs and the slowing of general business disruptions.
“Having a firewall is no longer enough. Firewalls installed as recently as in the last 18 months cannot prevent many current cyber threats,” said Rollins. “They are no longer set and forget. Firewalls need to be actively managed.”
CloudNexus shows on its infographic that four new malware strains are created every second in today’s world. “We agree that there has been a significant increase in new ransomware variants. We are focusing on implementing tools and services focused on prevention. It is a lot cheaper than trying to recover from an attack.” Rollins added.
To learn more about CloudNexus and the cybersecurity risks to small business visit www.cloudnexusit.com or view a graphic on cybersecurity risks here.
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