Lack of security employees makes SMBs sitting ducks for cyber attacks

For SMBs (and startups in particular), breaches can be devastating, according to DigitalOcean.

To strengthen their cybersecurity posture, companies must spend valuable resources on maintaining or updating systems, hiring and training staff, and implementing security software — resources and options that many don’t have readily available.

SMBs security posture

Cybersecurity threats are more real and prevalent than ever before. For businesses, security breaches risk not only exposure to customer data and a decrease in trust, but also losses in revenue if systems are taken offline through attacks such as DDoS.

“The findings in this report show that SMBs have specific needs and pain points, particularly when it comes to hiring and having dedicated security employees,” said Tyler Healy, VP of Security at DigitalOcean.

“Even without a traditional security role, there should be someone responsible for making security decisions in every organization; this kind of accountability is crucial. With slimmer budgets, SMBs shouldn’t look to overcomplicate their security posture. For many smaller businesses, improving cybersecurity is likely not about what they can purchase or who they can hire at any single point in time, and is as much cultural and behavioral as it is technical. Choices to simplify security posture early can pay dividends as a business scales,” Healy continued.

Cybersecurity is gaining increasing attention

The researchers have found:

• Cybersecurity is a growing concern among small businesses. 54% of respondents say they are more concerned about cybersecurity now than one year ago.
• 80% of startups and SMBs have one or fewer employees dedicated to security. 38% of surveyed businesses said they had zero employees dedicated to security as part of their role, and 42% had just one employee working on security.
• Data privacy is a top concern among startups, but 57% of respondents have zero employees dedicated to data privacy. The study found that 74% of businesses say that data privacy is a top concern for their business, but the majority have zero employees dedicated to data privacy.
• Lack of time to focus on security and keeping up with changing threats are the biggest challenges for businesses.