Cost of a Small Business Cyberattack: $9K
Even a single cyberattack can cost a small business a lot more than you may think. The average cost of one cyberattack totals about $8,669.48, the National Small Business Association (NSBA) reports.
The NSBA also found that 94 percent of small business owners are worried about cybersecurity, while almost half of small businesses, 44 percent, have already fallen victim to a cyberattack.
What else does this survey tell us when it comes to cyberattacks?
High Numbers a Concern
As reported by Fox News, an NSBA spokeswoman said the fact that 44 percent of small business owners have been victims of a cyberattack is "high, and really concerning."
The NSBA survey was conducted in August and included responses from 845 small-business owners. Here is a breakdown of some other numbers, as reported in the survey:
Of the businesses that have experienced an attack:
- 59 percent incurred service interruptions,
- 35 percent had information falsely being sent from their domain names,
- 19 percent had their website taken down,
- 5 percent had sensitive information stolen, and
- 3 percent said that the attack enabled hackers to access their business banking accounts.
Also, among those whose banking accounts were hacked, the average losses totaled $6,927.50.
Protect Your Business
Cyberattacks clearly take up a small business owner's time, resources, and energy. Make sure that you take the proper precautionary measures to best protect yourself. Here are a few suggestions:
- Anti-virus software. Make sure you run an anti-virus scan regularly and that your software is current. Both these measures taken can help protect against malware.
- Passwords. Make sure that all your passwords are changed often, and make them strong and unique to protect them from being compromised.
- Cloud storage concerns. Moving your infrastructure into cloud storage can give you access to network resources that are sophisticated enough to fight off attacks that might otherwise take you offline. However, beware of some legal risks of storing sensitive data in the cloud.
To learn more about protecting your business online, check out FindLaw's Online Safety section.
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Related Resources:
- New NSBA Survey Shows IT Cost, Security Major Concerns (National Small Business Association)
- Cyber Attacks: Small Business Guide (FindLaw)
- Most Small Biz Still Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
- Why Are Small Business Cyberattacks On the Rise? (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)