Why Would Hackers Target a Small Business?

It's the most common thing we hear from business owners: "Why would anyone bother hacking us? We're too small to be a target." It's also the assumption that gets businesses breached.

Small businesses are targeted because they're small

Most attacks aren't a hacker hand-picking a victim — they're automated, scanning the internet for any business with valuable data and weak defenses. Small and mid-sized businesses hold exactly what attackers want — customer records, payment details, login credentials — usually with a fraction of the protection a large enterprise has. Industry studies routinely attribute a large share of cyberattacks, often cited around 40%, to small businesses, and many that suffer a serious breach never fully recover.

The good news: the basics stop most attacks

You don't need an enterprise security budget. The majority of breaches exploit a handful of gaps that are inexpensive to close:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on email and key accounts, so a stolen password isn't enough
• Security awareness training, because most attacks start with a convincing email
• Endpoint protection and regular patching to close known holes
• Tested backups, so ransomware is a bad day instead of a closed business

Start by knowing where you stand

You can't fix what you can't see. A security assessment shows you exactly where you're exposed, ranked by real risk. If you'd like that picture for your business, our cybersecurity team can help — and a free IT second opinion is a no-pressure place to start.