SMEs put at risk by poor mobile security practices
A new report finds that 35 percent of small business employees or owners report clicking on a phishing link via mobile.
The research, carried out by OnePoll for CyberSmart, among 250 small-medium enterprise business owners or leaders in the UK also finds 30 percent of respondents report losing or having had stolen a mobile phone containing sensitive corporate information, leaving their business more vulnerable to potential cybercriminal activity.
AI's impact on the startup and innovation ecosystem [Q&A]
Early stage businesses face many challenges. Not least of these is selecting the right technology solutions, something made even more difficult by the emergence of new technologies.
We spoke to Paul Pluschkell, founder and CEO of StartupOS, to find out about how AI and other technologies can impact on new businesses.
Human factor is significant cyber risk for smaller businesses
Human factors, including lack of awareness, training and inconsistent policy adherence, are getting in the way of cybersecurity for smaller businesses.
A new survey of more than 600 business and IT security managers conducted by LastPass and survey research firm InnovateMR shows that cyberattacks targeting smaller organizations have increased significantly in recent years, as cyber criminals have learned these organizations are relatively easy targets.
SMBs are easy targets for cyberattacks
Despite cybersecurity threats being on the rise, many small and medium businesses (SMBs) still lack basic security measures, according to AI security company Cyber Upgrade.
It's no secret that hackers target smaller businesses due to inadequate cybersecurity safeguards, as most underestimate the associated risks as well as lacking the resources of larger enterprises.
Winter is coming and so are the hackers
A survey from Defcon 17 back in 2009 revealed that 81 percent of hackers are more likely to be active in winter.
It's easy to understand why this might be, with the holiday period bringing a spike in online trading as well as businesses closing down or operating on skeleton staffs.
How SMBs are tailoring their cybersecurity programs [Q&A]
The uncertain economic climate has led to many smaller businesses cutting their budgets over the last year. But where cybersecurity spend is concerned this can be a risky move.
We spoke to Geoff Bibby, senior vice president at OpenText Cybersecurity to discuss how SMBs and managed security providers (MSPs) can adapt their security plans while still remaining protected.
Malwarebytes for Business rebrands as 'ThreatDown'
In a bid to distinguish between its consumer and business offerings, Malwarebytes is relaunching its endpoint security platform for business as ThreatDown.
ThreatDown comes with a new Security Advisor dashboard and is available as a number of bundles that combine protection, threat intelligence, and expertise for IT-constrained organizations, reducing complexity and offering user-friendly security solutions.
Almost half of SMBs have experienced a cybersecurity incident in the last year
A new report from business software company Sage shows that 48 percent of SMBs have experienced a cyber security incident in the past year.
In addition the study of over 2,000 SMB decision makers around the world finds 51 percent say keeping on top of new threats is their biggest challenge and 44 percent say economic uncertainty and the cost of living has reduced cybersecurity budgets.
The state of SMB security
Headlines around the globe are typically focused on the big names and, more importantly, the big numbers when it comes to cyberattacks. From manufacturing to banking, education or healthcare, cyber incidents involving the loss of millions of records, or which have resulted in hefty fines are, inevitably, more likely to capture our attention.
Incidents involving a small firm of accountants whose data has been held to ransom, or a dentist’s practice that has been forced offline because of malware, may not reach the mainstream media but attacks on smaller businesses are happening with alarming regularity.
A third of SMBs dispose of old hardware in landfill
As growing businesses rush to upgrade their hardware, many are simply throwing old computers, routers, and other IT assets into the trash, leading to security and environmental concerns.
A new study from Capterra of 500 IT professionals at US small and midsize businesses (SMBs) reveals that nearly a third (29 percent) indulge in improper IT hardware disposal practices.
How small business owners can reassess their cybersecurity strategies during economic downturns
The economic headwinds are blowing, and that has a lot of people nervous, not the least of whom are small business (SMB) owners across the country. With talk of recession in the air, SMB owners and their investors are paying extra attention to their bottom lines to maintain efficiency and innovation while managing costs. In many cases budgets are being squeezed, body counts are being leveled or reduced, and programs thought to be outside the core function of the enterprise are being slashed. It is unfortunate, however, that cybersecurity is often among the programs on the chopping block as it is perceived to be a less-than-essential expense.
As a former (and current) small business owner whose previous business was decimated by a malicious cyber-attack, I can attest to the short-sightedness of the belief that cybersecurity is an add-on, not a must-have.
SMEs underestimate the cost of cyber incidents
A new report from cyber insurance provider Cowbell shows that 90 percent of small business leaders underestimate the cost of a cyber incident.
The study of 500 SME leaders across the US shows that 50 percent of SMEs have experienced a significant cyber incident in the past 12 months and, of those, 90 percent say the attack cost more than they anticipated.
Smaller businesses are ready to embrace AI
According to a new report, 61 percent of SMBs expect their AI usage to increase in the next year, and younger groups are more likely to incorporate AI into regular tasks.
The study from DigitalOcean also finds that while 70 percent have used ChatGPT in some capacity, it's still in the early testing stages and only nine percent of companies have policies in place concerning its usage. 62 percent of those using ChatGPT say they are just testing it out, with 23 percent integrating it into regular tasks.
BEC attacks rose 72 percent in 2022 with smaller businesses in the firing line
Business Email Compromise attacks increased dramatically last year with a 72 percent rise year-on-year over 2021.
The 2023 Email Security Threat Report from Armorblox shows high volumes of language-based and socially engineered attacks targeting organizations of all sizes and across industries.
Opportunities and considerations for small businesses experimenting with ChatGPT
For the past few months, the tech -- and tech-adjacent -- world has been fascinated by ChatGPT. A generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that has been open for public use since late 2022, it’s designed to interact with humans to answer questions or develop content based on a prompt written in simple, conversational English rather than a complex data query.
ChatGPT has been used to write Valentine’s Day poems, plan a Thanksgiving menu and write other humorous outputs. It also has quickly become a research hub, programming tutor and source for writing inspiration. Famously, a leading tech news site used ChatGPT to write some of its articles, to varying degrees of success.
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