Why SMEs are the low hanging fruit for hackers

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For one thing, your reputation can go down the drain along with your dream of selling this great little business it has taken you twenty years or more to build. This is according to Ethan Searle, business development director at LanDynamix.

Searle says many SMEs are under the illusion that their size makes them impervious to cybercriminals.

“Too often small business owners underestimate the knowledge, skills, and ability of cybercriminals to pick the low hanging fruit – those are the businesses that are most likely to lack cyber security measures with the excuse that it is too costly for a company of their size.

“Cybercriminals today are no longer single hackers but entire collaborative networks on a global scale. It is delusional to think these organised hackers only target large corporations with vast resources.

“It is never a case of the bigger the organisation the more attractive the hit because the yield will be bigger.

“In fact, the opposite is true, smaller organisations are more vulnerable due to lack of focus and investment in protection making them prime targets for hacking as they require minimum effort and resources,” says Searle.

He explains how a cyber breach can have far more sinister implications for small businesses than large enterprises with greater financial reserves and investment in recovery systems.

“SMEs are characteristically founded by entrepreneurs with a vision to grow their business into a saleable entity, however, a cyber breach can do irreparable damage operationally, financially, and of course, reputationally.

“All these impacts can be devastating to the resale value of a business. SMEs need to ask themselves are they willing to risk this outcome.”

He emphasises digital security awareness is vital.

Searle says while modern technology has enabled access to business data from anywhere, at any time it has also vastly expanded the attack surface and presented hackers with new points of entry.

“So, you have small business owners with a limited number of employees but all of whom have been supplied with the necessary apps and tools that enable them to perform their duties to the highest standard and with speed and ease.

“However, many SMEs are unaware of what is called ‘Shadow IT’ where employees are using tools that are not officially sanctioned by the company. These are convenient access points for cybercriminals. Add to that the proliferation of smart devices – this broadens the opportunity landscape even further,” notes Searle.