We’re NOT Making This Stuff Up! Cyber Crime is Serious Business.
It’s pretty easy to think that a cyber security company might make up a few “facts” to try to manipulate consumers into buying their products. Statistics like “60% of small businesses that are hacked go out of business within six months” (National Cyber Security Alliance) might seem a bit unbelievable. But when it comes to cyber-security and the concerns facing small businesses, unfortunately we don’t have to “make up” statistics – because the threat and the consequences are very, very real.
Last month (April 2016), the House Committee on Small Business held a hearing to discuss the growing threat of cyber attacks on small businesses. Below is video from that hearing. But, rather than listen to the whole session, just take a moment and listen to the first few minutes and you’ll understand how significant this problem really is:
If you’re more adventurous (or your favorite channel is C-Span) watch the entire hearing. But I will warn you, if you are a small business owner, it’s the kind of stuff that will keep you up at night.
For those who didn’t watch, or in case you missed it, here is something of note:
…the IRS paid 3.1 billion dollars in fraudulent Identity Theft (or IDT) tax returns. ~ Chairman Steve Chabot
That’s a significant amount of money. And what it shows is simple: the digital information stored in small business computer systems is extremely valuable to hackers. And that’s not even talking about the money to be made from stealing intellectual property, medical information, or financial records.
Know this: if our government understands the security threat well enough to say “Small businesses face an increased risk because they lack the resources to protect themselves against sophisticated cyber-attacks” then you can be sure cyber-criminals are aware of this, too.
One last comment of Chairman Chabot’s should catch our attention:
…the threat to small businesses has only grown. Unfortunately, in many ways, the federal government’s efforts to guard against this threat have not kept pace.
So unfortunately this means that though “small businesses face an increased risk because they lack the resources to protect themselves” they are also the ones primarily responsibly for providing that protection.
Dealing with this issue begins with acknowledging that the cyber-threat landscape is a real and growing concern for businesses – one that must become a higher priority in your company, a regular agenda item in board meetings, and a line-item expense in the budget.
In regard to the latter, at Axiom Cyber Solutions, we understand that most small business have a “lack of resources” in both finances as well as experienced staff. So we offer enterprise-level protection monitored by cyber-security professionalsat a price a small business can afford.
If you would like to discuss what we can do to help you protect your business, give me a call at 1-800-519-5070 or email us at info@axiomcyber.com.
