Study: 66 Percent of Small Businesses Worldwide Have Faced Cyberattacks in The Past Year

Study: 66 Percent of Small Businesses Worldwide Have Faced Cyberattacks in The Past Year

For the third year in a row, SMBs are reporting big increases in the frequency of cybersecurity attacks.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Oct 11, 2019

Hackers are increasingly targeting small businesses in the U.S. and around the globe, according to a new study that surveyed over 2,300 participants in the IT and cybersecurity industries. 

For the third year in a row, small and medium-sized businesses are reporting a “significant increase” in cybersecurity attacks, according to the research published by the Ponemon Institute and Keeper Security. Sixty-six percent of SMBs globally have reported a cyber incident in the past 12 months. 

In the U.S., 69 percent of organizations surveyed reported the loss of sensitive corporate or customer information in the past year. That’s a 19 percent increase from four years ago, according to ZDNet. 

But while companies are becoming increasingly aware of cyber threats, particularly in the face of high-impact ransomware attacks on businesses and governments, many of the people surveyed said they were not confident in their organization’s ability to respond to the incidents. 

Forty-five percent of respondents said that the IT posture of their workplace is “ineffective,” and another 39 percent claimed there was no form of “incident response” in place to deal with breaches. 

The main threats continue to be phishing attacks, compromised devices used by employees, and credential theft, ZDNet reported. None of the findings are shocking to cybersecurity professionals who have been warning of the potential drawbacks of IoT devices, especially as more workplaces ask their employees to bring their own laptops to work. 

Nearly 50 percent of respondents said they use business-critical applications from devices outside of the workplace. Despite the participants acknowledging that this practice potentially puts their business security at risk, the use of outside devices to complete work does not look like it will fade any time soon. 

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.