Laurence Cadieux
Global cybercrime revenues have reached $1.5 trillion per year, and the average price tag of a data breach is now $3.9 million per incident. Yet despite these staggering costs, there remains a common belief among many small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that the greatest vulnerabilities rest with large organizations. However, there is mounting evidence that SMBs are becoming more vulnerable than enterprises, and complacency regarding this reality can have disastrous consequences.
To help SMBs grasp the scope and dynamic of the current cyber threat landscape — and ultimately make decisions that reduce the likelihood and severity of cyberattacks — Devolutions surveyed decision-makers in SMBs worldwide on a variety of relevant issues in 2020 and 2021, which are even more critical now due to the pandemic and the heightened security risks related to remote workers.
Key Highlights of the Survey
- 88% of SMBs are more concerned about the privacy and security of their online data now than they were five years ago.
- While 78% of SMBs consider a PAM solution to be at least somewhat important to their organization’s cybersecurity program, 76% of SMBs do not have a fully deployed PAM solution in place.
- 62% of SMBs do not conduct a security audit at least once a year, and 14% of SMBs never perform a conduct audit at all.
- 57% of SMBs say they have experienced a phishing attack in the last three years.
- 97% of SMBs believe that end users are at least somewhat responsible in the event of a data breach.
- 47% of SMBs allow end users to re-use passwords across personal and professional accounts.
- 29% of SMBs rely on human memory for storing passwords.
In total, survey respondents answered 24 questions related to cybersecurity, privileged access management, actions they are currently taking to increase cybersecurity effectiveness, and their knowledge around cybersecurity.
What’s Inside the Report
The answers to each question (grouped by percentage), along with insights, commentary, and sources of further information, are presented in the remainder of this report, which is organized into six parts:
- How SMBs Protect Their Organization Against Hackers — and What They Expect the Cybersecurity Landscape to Look Like in the Future
- Password Practices and Policies in SMBs
- Knowledge and Use of Privileged Access Management in SMBs
- Actions that SMBs Are Taking to Increase Cybersecurity Effectiveness
- Recommendations
- Profile of Respondents
The Winner of the BitDefender Box 2
It’s time to find out the lucky winner of the BitDefender Box 2.0! We randomly selected a survey participant who will receive a BitDefender Box 2.0 smart home security hub. And the winner is: Isaac Velasquez! Congratulations! We will contact you shortly with further information.
Get the Report
Download the report to grasp the scope of the current threat landscape, and discover five core recommendations for strengthening your organization’s cybersecurity protection.
Steven Lafortune
