Small Business: The New Target What can they Do?

The increased security in larger companies is making life more difficult for attackers. Since thieves still have to make a living -- they adapted. Traditionally, small and medium sized companies have less secure systems due to reduced awareness, staff, and capital. Attackers simply retargeted their efforts. Small business averaged a cost of $1088 per employee due to cyber-attacks last year alone. (Ponemon Institute LLC, 2011) While attackers no longer score as big with each hit there are thousands more potential targets. But what can these potential new targets do?The simple answer is: A great deal. While it is possible to spend many thousands of dollars on security, many solutions simply require some time to implement. Others require only small capital investments. No security system, no matter the cost, is fool proof. It is often good enough for a company to simply have better security than its peers. Many attackers are looking for simple targets and will move on if they meet resistance.