Report: SMBs Still Feel Unprepared for Cyberattacks

Webroot, a Broomfield, Colorado-based cybersecurity company, has issued a new market research report that found that while SMBs in the U.S., U.K., and Australia are taking cybersecurity seriously, 79 percent say they aren’t completely ready to manage IT security and protect against threats.

The global report, entitled “Webroot SMB Cybersecurity Preparedness,” found that phishing has displaced new forms of malware globally as the No. 1 attack. Fear of phishing is up from No. 3 last year, with new forms of malware dropping to No. 6, behind DDoS attacks and mobile attacks.

Post WannaCry, ransomware also rose from the fifth most susceptible attack to third globally – and topped the charts to reach No. 1 in the U.K.

U.S.-based IT decision makers think their business will be most susceptible to phishing threats (56 percent), while the U.K. fears ransomware attacks (44 percent) and Australia DNS attacks (52 percent). Meanwhile, SMBs in the U.K. are significantly less concerned about DDoS attacks (17 percent) than the U.S. (52 percent) and Australia (49 percent). Australian businesses view insider threats as a bigger concern than in other regions surveyed (32 percent in Australia vs. 25 percent globally). In addition, U.S. respondents are more concerned about new forms of malware infections (37 percent) than the UK (32 percent) or Australia (34 percent).

Although almost all respondents train employees on cybersecurity best practices, that figure drops to half or a third when asked about training “continuously,” which Webroot says is vital for effectiveness. Businesses in the U.S. (54 percent) are more likely to offer continuous training to employees than those in the U.K. (31 percent) or Australia (32 percent). U.K. businesses (26 percent) are more likely to only conduct security training after a data breach takes place compared to those in the U.S. (9 percent) or Australia (19 percent).

Compared to last year, SMBs feeling “very confident” their business is “completely ready to manage IT security and protect against threats” dropped from 48 percent to 21 percent globally.

The survey was conducted among 600 IT decision makers at small to medium-sized businesses with 100 to 499 employees in three countries: the U.S., U.K., and Australia, between March 15 and March 26, 2018.

Channel Impact^®
While security has gained substantial traction on the needs list of IT decision makers, the data demonstrates substantial opportunities for channel partners.