Small and medium sized businesses usually rely on organizational data for flourishing and succeeding in their endeavors. However, there are chances that the SMBs are putting all their data at risk by implementing erroneous strategies. According to the latest survey reports, at least 78 percent of global organizations had to encounter a minimum of one data breach due to negligent employees or malicious parties. This shows that lack of necessary skills, knowledge and adaptability are putting undue stress on the organizational data sets; thereby compromising confidentiality.
Data Security Risks: Enumerating the Perils
Data breaches are often followed by massive financial liabilities, further resulting in higher recovery costs and customer reimbursement issues. Moreover, recreating the compromised data sets can be extremely difficult and certainly not a cost-effective strategy. Lastly, it is the organizational credibility that gets compromised when and if a security breach is encountered. While these are some of the common lingering threats associated with data breaches, certain advanced attacks can completely cripple the SMB’s and bring them close to a shut down.
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There are a host of reasons which directly determine why a SMB might just be on the verge of witnessing a data breach.
Employee Negligence
There are times when your greatest asset can eventually turn into your weakest link. In the modern era, where accessibility and mobility are some of the desirable organizational traits, they often lead to higher risks for enterprises. Based on reports, a minimum of 77 percent employees forget to turn off their systems thereby keeping them unattended and prone to threats. Due to lack of sufficient awareness, SMB employees are often negligent in safeguarding critical organizational data. Be it changing passwords frequently or staying away from phishing links, higher level of vigilance is required to protect confidential business data from malicious parties and cybercriminals.
Lack of Protective Technologies
Majority of SMBs fail in implementing premium security technologies for protecting the data. Crunched on budgets and unware of the overall threat landscape, many SMB’s put ‘investment in security technology’ at the back seat. Failing to identify appropriate tools and data loss prevention options, exposes them to advanced persistent threats. While almost 65 percent of SMBs have obsolete technologies in place, 64 percent of the existing organizations quickly need to reassemble their infrastructure for staying one step ahead of the hackers. That said, companies should look to incorporate inside-out protective measures besides opting for advanced levels of perimeter security.
Focusing Extensively on Employee Mobility
Emphasizing on mobile devices is quite common for the SMBs. BYOD and other similar strategies are instrumental in offering flexibility to an organization. However, the concept of enhanced mobility comes at a hefty price tag. With almost 56 percent of SMB employees storing sensitive data on mobile handsets, the data security risks have also multiplied at a rapid rate.
Failing to back up the Data Sets
Reports suggest that at least 62 percent of small and medium-sized businesses fail to back up the existing data sets, on a routine basis. Moreover, they do not have automated backup plans in place. In most cases, lack of resources and budget is the major constraint faced by SMBs, hindering their backup processes.
Not Enforcing Security Policies
Enterprises need stringent data security policies to protect their customer’s information. Majority of SMBs face the continued risk of losing out on data, revenue generation and employee productivity if proper data security policies aren’t enforced. Although 80 percent of the existing organizations are in favor of monitoring and managing end-user entitlements and privileges, only 47 percent actually implement policies and train employees, accordingly.
Seqrite offers high-end security solutions suited for enterprises of varied sizes and industrial focus. The Seqrite Endpoint Security works well with SMB’s as it provides complete security of data and assets. Be it closing doors on phishing attacks, ransomware and other malware threats or implementing multi-layered security polices— companies like Seqrite can easily minimize the data security risks by patching the organizational holes against diverse vulnerabilities.
As an IT security partner for your business, Seqrite provides comprehensive endpoint security from advanced cyber threats. To know more, visit our website or
