New BlackFog Study: 61% of SMBs Have Been Victims of a Cyber Attack in the Past Year
Cheyenne, Wyoming, June 13, 2023 – 61% of SMB companies have been hit by a successful cyber attack in the past year, according to new findings released today from BlackFog. The study, which examined the business impact of cyber security for organizations in the US and UK, also revealed the growing importance of engaging with trusted partners to address their security challenges.
Businesses also fall victim to repeated attacks, with 87% of IT decision makers stating that they experienced two or more successful attacks in the past 12 months. On average, organizations have seen close to five successful data breaches, malware or ransomware attacks impact their network.
Critically for SMBs, the primary impact of an attack was business downtime, affecting 58% of respondents. The successful attacks also negatively impacted customer trust and retention, with a third of all respondents reporting that the incidents resulted in lost customers. Alarmingly, 39% of affected organizations also reported loss of customer data.
“Cybercriminals naturally gravitate towards organizations with the lowest level of protection, and that usually means small to mid-sized businesses come under fire,” said Dr. Darren Williams, founder and CEO of BlackFog. “With 89% of all attacks involving some form of data exfiltration, it is extremely important for organizations to prioritize the protection of their most valuable business critical asset, their data.”
The growing importance of trusted partners
The significant business impact of cyber attacks points to a growing opportunity for service providers to support and advise their customers.
When seeking advice on new security solutions, the opinions of vendors or channel partners were valued more than that of peers by decision makers. In fact, more than a quarter of all respondents (26%) rated suppliers and partners as the most trusted compared to peers in their company (21%), analysts (16%) and peers in other organizations (10%).
Among the key findings on partnerships with external suppliers, the study also revealed:
- More than two-thirds of respondents, 69%, indicated that they are more likely to ask their partner for advice on new cybersecurity solutions compared to last year.
- 41% of respondents stated that knowledge of cyber threats is the biggest challenge in effective protection; Highlight how service providers and partners have a vital role in providing access to information and expertise.
- The majority, 87% of respondents, indicated that they felt their IT vendors were focused on understanding their cybersecurity challenges. However, only 39% of respondents felt they understood all of their challenges.
- High security standards are expected from partners, with more than a third of respondents (38%) stating that this was the main determining factor in choosing a managed security provider.
“There is a huge opportunity for solution providers and partners to build new relationships in this market as SMBs struggle to navigate a rising tide of growing cybersecurity threats. Now more than ever, as a trusted partner, MSPs have an important responsibility to ensure their customer’s data is protected from extortion “, continued Dr. Darren Williams. “Existing defense-based approaches are no longer sufficient for today’s polymorphic attacks, leveraging data mining as the primary weapon of choice.”
Founded in 2015, BlackFog is a global cybersecurity company that pioneered device-based anti-data exfiltration (ADX) technology to protect companies from global security threats such as ransomware, spyware, malware, phishing, unauthorized data collection and profiling. Its software monitors corporate compliance with global privacy regulations and prevents cyber attacks at all endpoints. BlackFog uses behavioral analysis to proactively prevent hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities in corporate security systems and data structures.
BlackFog was recognized as a Gold Award Winner at the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards for Best Virtual CISO Offering, as well as a Silver Award for Ransomware Protection and Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company of 2023. BlackFog also won a 2023 Globee Award for the State of Ransomware Report which recognizes outstanding contributions in security The digital landscape.
BlackFog’s proactive approach to security recognizes the limitations of existing perimeter defense techniques and neutralizes attacks before they occur at multiple points in their lifecycle. Trusted by corporations all over the world, BlackFog is redefining modern cyber security practices. For more information visit https://www.blackfog.com
- The results from this survey are from an online survey Sapio research Field on behalf of BlackFog with 400 US and UK IT decision makers from companies with 100-999 employees.
