A couple of recent cyberattacks have given small companies the jitters – even more so than Brexit, according to a poll of 500 small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) conducted by Barclaycard.
The survey found that 44% were worried about being hit by cybercrime or a data breach compared with just 34% who cited Brexit as a major concern. A cyber-attack in May of this year caused disruption for over a week to companies and even the NHS, with operations and clinical appointments being cancelled and ambulances being diverted to unaffected hospitals.
Fears over cybercrime have led some SMEs to increase their spending on firewalls, security software and other defences to more than £3.8 billion over the next year. Last year, spending stood at £2.9 billion – that’s an average of £1,600 per business. Incidentally, that’s the same amount of money spent on contactless payments upgrades, so smaller businesses may have some tough decisions to make.
As companies grow, so do the threats. 34% of small businesses cited that they were concerned about their ability to manage multiple threats and demands. If you are watching the bottom line, cutting corners when it comes to protection against cyber-attack could have catastrophically expensive consequences for your company. Make sure you invest in the technology, get the right security systems in place and don’t leave it to chance.
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Tags: Business News
