Examples of Large & Small Business Cyber Attacks: Fighting for Survival Against a New Wave of Cyber Criminals

There are two types of businesses in the world today. Those that have been attacked by cybercriminals, and those that haven’t, yet. In what is becoming increasingly clear, most of these businesses are currently sitting vulnerable, at the edge of a historic crisis.

Just this month, according to Bleeping Computer, electronics retail giant MediaMarkt suffered a ransomware attack with an initial ransom demand of $240 million. The resulting impact caused IT systems to be shut down and store operations to be disrupted in the Netherlands and Germany.

To make matters worse, Hive, the group behind the attack, threatens to steal sensitive content and publish it on their data leak site if a ransom is not paid. It’s important to note that this type of attack is not just a problem threatening large European corporations. All over the world, businesses of all sizes are facing a level of cyberattacks never seen before.

To learn more about the problem and what can be done, we commissioned Coleman Parkes Research to conduct an independent survey.

The high cost of cyberattacks for SMBs

Large enterprises, like MediaMarkt, typically have the budgets, staffing, and other resources to combat cybercrime. They generally can take care of themselves. Even though the experience may be very “painful” to their reputation and business continuity, most large companies have the means to survive cyberattacks.

But what about medium and small business cyber attacks? They are just as dependent on computing resources and online communication as any large corporation. If hit with a cyberattack, operations can be severely impacted.

In general, do SMBs have the technology and trained staff in place to adequately defend against ever-evolving cyber threats? Do they have contingency plans to mitigate damage in case of an attack? Do they carry insurance policies that cover the damage and cost of recovery? The answers to these questions can help to shape appropriate and effective remedies to the current situation.

So, in their research, Coleman Parkes focused on SMBs. Four hundred decision-makers from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across North America and Europe were surveyed on their current state of cybersecurity preparedness.  Survey results confirmed that SMBs are under cyberattack with little to no practical ability to protect themselves.

Furthermore, the survey uncovered new information about this evolving situation and a wealth of useful medium and small business cyber attack statistics:

• 24% of SMBs fell prey to a cyberattack in the last 12 months
• The average cost of a cybersecurity incident for an SMB was about $200K
• SMBs are willing to pay an average of $6.45 / €6.40 each month for cybersecurity protection

Additional data and relevant conclusions were discussed in detail during a recent webinar we held on the subject of business network security and continuity. For those that would like to learn even more, the full report summarizing the results of the SMB Security Survey is currently available for download from our website.