Risky business: UK SMEs would rather risk customer data than slow down growth

London, October 12th – New research commissioned by Defense.com™, an SME cyber security specialist, today reveals that British small businesses are more willing to put their customer data at risk than impact growth, despite a rise in business critical cyber attacks such as ransomware in the past 12 months.

The research finds that many small businesses are failing to prioritise cyber security, with almost a quarter (24%) spending nothing on cyber security and a further 25% spending less than £1,000 a year. When it comes to the pandemic, 35% of SMEs believe it has increased their exposure to cyber risk meaning many small businesses are leaving themselves open to attack. Despite this, 40% of SMEs say the pandemic didn’t encourage them to invest more in cyber security.

There are a number of reasons that British SMEs are failing to prioritise investment in their cyber security defences. Many small businesses believe they won’t be the target of cyber attacks and that they aren’t under threat: 34% of SMEs say one of the main reasons they don’t invest more in cyber security capabilities is because their business is too small and 19% of SMEs don’t invest because they believe their business data is not a target. On top of this, one quarter (25%) of small businesses say one of the main reasons they don’t invest more in cyber security capabilities is because of the cost.

In response to this growing problem, Defense.com™ will be providing access to its Essentials package for the first 100 small businesses for six months for free. SMEs will be able to benefit from a range of powerful cyber security tools, including a unique Threat Recon scan that shows SMEs what their business looks like to a hacker. SMEs that want to take advantage of this offer during Cyber Security Awareness Month should visit the Defense.com™ website here.

Oliver Pinson-Roxburgh, CEO and Co-Founder at Defense.com™ said: “These findings clearly show that British SMEs are not taking cyber security seriously, often through no fault of their own. The pandemic has led to a massive increase in remote working, with many small businesses operating a distributed workforce for the first time. In this time of heightened threats and remote work, a low-security budget and lack of cyber skills can seriously impact the competitiveness of SMEs. A successful cyber attack has the potential to put an SME out of business, resulting in lost jobs and livelihoods.

Pinson-Roxburgh continued: “For too long, cyber security has been inaccessible to small companies who often see it as too complicated and too expensive. At Defense.com™, it is our mission to bring enterprise-grade cyber security to the SME in a way that is easy to understand and affordable. This is why we are offering 100 small businesses the opportunity to trial our essentials package for free for six months this Cyber security Awareness Month.

Defense.com™

Defense.com™ is an all-in-one cyber security platform creating a world where all businesses are secure businesses. Developed by the experts at Bulletproof, we’re making cyber security more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. A simple, pay-monthly cyber security SaaS platform, with access to expert support 24/7, Defense.com™ delivers peace of mind for business leaders, so that they can focus on growing their organisation. To find out more, visit Defense.com™.