Many small Business Owners aren’t sure about how to protect their business from a cyberattack. Some owners don’t really see this issue as one worth investing in because they think that it won’t happen to them. Entrepreneurs like these can learn a great deal from the statistics that have recently emerged from analysts. Here are some of these important numbers:

58% of all attacks target small businesses.

Even though there has been news of attacks on mega corporations like Google and Facebook, Verizon found that most cyberattacks target smaller businesses. Even though bigger corporations offer a larger payout for attackers, smaller ones are easier to penetrate and manipulate. Regardless of size, cybercriminals will take advantage of any vulnerability in your system’s protections. Smaller businesses are typically easier targets because they haven’t invested much in protecting their systems.

Only 14% of small business owners think that they are adequately able to mitigate cyber risks.

Figuring out how to adequately manage Cyber Risks can be confusing for small business owners because they typically don’t have staff or other professionals dedicated to that task. Others choose not to take protective measures because of costs, or they simply don’t believe its worth the investment. This statistic means that the majority of small business owners are unprepared – cybercriminals know this.

48% of data security breaches are caused by malicious intent.

This statistic is startling, as it means that criminals are very active and able to figure out the holes in a business’s protections. The other half of data breaches are caused by human error or system failure. If you believe that cyberattacks are not a risk you should be concerned with, it’s important that you keep this statistic in mind.

55% of surveyed respondents reported a cyber attack in the past year at the time of survey.

The specific research done here was by SmallBizTrends.com and they found that an overwhelming amount of surveyed small businesses had already been the targets of a cyberattack. These numbers are already 3 years old, which means that these numbers may have ended up increasing over time as criminals improved their skills.

Cybersecurity is a very important facet of owning a small business. Unfortunately, some criminals are good at their jobs and if you don’t protect your systems, you’re leaving your business open as an easy target. The good news is that you have options. Consider reaching out to a professional service that will help you secure your data.