Introduction
Be it a small-sized, medium-sized, or large-sized company, all share a common threat of cyber-attack. While large companies and corporates are the most popular target for hackers, small businesses are not immune and are off late the more desired target. In fact, small businesses are marked as easy targets for they often have no budget for protecting their IT infrastructure. On the other hand, large companies spend a lot to protect themselves from cyber-attacks. Small businesses typically have no sufficient money for security and often end up spending little or no money on software or tools to defend their asset from security threats. Knowing this hacker target small business to achieve its objectives. Moreover, hackers who are testing their hacking abilities would prefer trying on small businesses for they are much safer and low risk to them. Small business owners can hire just one person who has undergone some Online cyber security course to be cautious. Small businesses could potentially be marked as an easy target in a hacking community for hackers to try their abilities.
Understanding “What is new account opening fraud?” is crucial for recognizing and preventing deceptive activities associated with the creation of fraudulent accounts, and safeguarding against potential financial and security risks.
Reasons why small businesses are targeted
1.Lack of knowledge and understanding of the security landscape–
Small businesses can often be vulnerable to cyber attacks for they have very less or no knowledge of security landscape. This makes them an easy target in the hacking community.
2. Lack of resources-
Small businesses have budget constraints which are why they are not able to protect their critical data infrastructure or assets. Small business prefers spending or investing in resources that will fetch them more business but you will never find them securing their business infrastructure adequately. This is a well-known fact in the hacker’s community and which is why hackers use tools to find vulnerable company websites and databases to launch attacks on.
3.False belief
Unfortunately, most business owners are of the view that their business being of small-scale won’t be a target to an online attack. However, as mentioned earlier hackers too are aware of it and hence are easy prey to them for testing their online attack skills. Businesses should understand that no matter what size or scale they run their business; they can still be a victim to a cyber-attack if they do not take appropriate measures for the same.
Final Thought
Now that you know why cybersecurity is important for businesses of all sizes, it is time you take cybersecurity seriously and adopt a necessary measure to defend your critical assets from potential vulnerabilities in your system. One must work towards strengthening their security measures at all times. Securing your customer’s data is, after all, your responsibility. Implementing necessary measures and protocols will prevent cyberattacks and safeguard your business from data theft/breach. Having said that one must always remember that while a lot of measures are being taken to curb the issues of data theft, hackers are getting techno-savvy each day. So, businesses must make every effort to safeguard their IT Infrastructure to save themselves from the risk of breach/theft. If companies abide by even the basic security recommendations, they can prevent data theft considerably.
Author Bio
Narendra Sahoo (PCI QSA, PCI QPA, CISSP, CISA, and CRISC) is the Founder and
Director of VISTA InfoSec, a global Information Security Consulting firm, based in the US,
Singapore & India. Mr. Sahoo holds more than 25 years of experience in the IT Industry,
with expertise in Information Risk Consulting, Assessment, & Compliance services. VISTA
InfoSec specializes in Information Security audit, consulting and certification services which
include GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, NESA, MAS-TRM, PCI DSS Compliance & Audit, PCI PIN, SOC2,
PDPA, PDPB to name a few. The company has for years (since 2004) worked with organizations
across the globe to address the Regulatory and Information Security challenges in their industry.
VISTA InfoSec has been instrumental in helping top multinational companies achieve compliance and secure their IT infrastructure.