Internet Security Learning Center

Small Businesses vs. Cybercrooks

As they become more sophisticated, cybercriminals are turning away from large, corporate targets in favor of smaller businesses that are typically less adequately prepared to deal with an attack. A recent survey found that 56 percent of small businesses endured at least one security incident last year, but that fewer than 30 percent increased spending on security during the same period. Cybercrime cost U.S. businesses around $67 billion last year, according to the FBI. Small enterprises are "the low-hanging fruit in terms of a target because they lack the infrastructure to have really good defenses," said MessageLabs CTO Mark Sunner. Larger companies will have multiple layers of defenses and an in-house IT department. Small companies are also less likely to have policies in place to protect against viruses, and they will have fewer resources available to recover from an attack. Small businesses must take certain basic steps to guard against cybercrime, such as installing and updating antivirus software on every computer and server and using an email filtering application to weed out spam, spyware, and email-borne viruses. Backing up all data and drafting a formal antivirus policy are also good ideas. Companies should ensure that their firewalls are strong enough to protect their network and that they extend to workers who access the network remotely. Though implementing all these steps will certainly shore up the security of any business' systems, the cost can be prohibitive for some smaller ventures, which can make outsourcing security an appealing option for companies on a tight budget. "When you are a small company, you should really think about outsourcing," said Tumbleweed CTO John Thielens. "Building an IT security infrastructure shouldn't be left to amateurs, because the bad guys are professionals."

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