Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

63% of SMBs are not prepared to counter cyber-security threats

Only 37 percent of SMBs feel that their organisation is fit to manage IT security. IT employees in almost one-third of companies (32 percent) balance IT security with their other responsibilities, showing that critical cyber-security tasks do not gain the attention they deserve.

A new global report from Webroot surveyed 700 global IT head honchos from the UK, US and Australia in companies with 1,000 employees or less. Nearly 60 percent of respondents believe their business is more prone to cyber-attacks than large enterprises such as JP Morgan since they lack resources to maintain their defences. 

Almost half of respondents (48 percent) feel their company is vulnerable to insider threats, however more than half (55 percent) do not have time to stay current on the latest cyber-security threats.

Sixty-three percent of respondents in the UK are more confident in their endpoint protection abilities as opposed to 55 percent in Australia. In the UK, SMBs estimate that their businesses would lose an average of £215,910 from cyber-attacks in 2016.

In general, 81 percent of respondents want to increase their yearly IT security budget for 2016 and are open to other improvement strategies.

“SMBs play a pivotal role in helping drive the economies of all the countries polled, but past experiences have taught them they face an uphill battle when it comes to cyber-security,” said George Anderson, director of product marketing at Webroot. 

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