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Cybersecurity incidents targeting SMBs are down, study finds

Thursday, November 10, 2022 — 11:57:08 (EST)

SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) OCTOBER 26, 2022--The Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity crime, has published its second annual report on the impacts of identity crimes and cyberattacks on small businesses and solopreneurs – the 2022 Business Impact Report.

For the report, the ITRC surveyed 447 small business owners, leaders and employees to explore the impacts of cybercrimes on small businesses (see the “About the ITRC 2022 Business Impact Report” section below for more information). According to the responses, cybersecurity incidents targeting small businesses increased by 61 percent during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, but have dropped slightly in the past 12 months. Less than half (45 percent) of small businesses reported a security breach, data breach, or both, down from the 58 percent that reported a cybercrime in the 2021 report.

Some of the other key takeaways from the 2022 Business Impact Report include:

Overall, more than 45 percent of small businesses lost revenue due to a cybercrime. Generally, small businesses lost less money as a result of a cyber incident in the last year, with one key exception – victims of social media account takeover. (Companies paying less than $250K grew by 11 percentage points; businesses paying $250K-$500K dropped six (6) points over the previous year.)

However, 50 percent of small businesses surveyed reported losing control of a social media account to a cybercriminal, with 87 percent of the victims losing revenue generated by the account. More than one-third (34 percent) of victims lost between $1,000 and $10,000.

Fewer small businesses reported experiencing a data breach in the past 12 months (23 percent), a two (2) percentage point decrease from 2021. However, the number of small businesses reporting a first-time breach jumped 17 points from 2021.

Nearly 30 percent of small businesses lost customer trust and had difficulty responding to customer concerns.

More than 40 percent of small businesses struggled to understand what happened and why it happened.

After investing in more security tools and training, 70 percent of small businesses said they were ready to protect against a cyberattack or recover from a data breach.

Download the ITRC’s 2022 Business Impact Report

“Behind all of these statistics are people,” said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “These are people trying to support their families and their employees' families. As people look at this report, I encourage them to remember that these resources stolen by cybercriminals are the same resources needed to sustain or grow a business, which keeps those families safe, healthy and financially secure.”

“We are happy to see fewer reported cyber events, but we also find it intriguing that so many small business leaders are confident of their ability to defend against a cyber event. We will know in 2023 if these statistics and confidence levels are one-time events or true trends.”

Another notable finding in the 2022 Business Impact Report is that small businesses relied more on cyber insurance and existing credit lines to cover the costs associated with a data or security breach (40 percent – a 12 percentage point jump in using insurance proceeds and a seven (7) point increase in existing credit use). Also, 35 percent of small businesses reported returning to pre-breach performance levels within one year, a 13 percentage point increase. Most companies (41 percent) still required one to two years to fully recover.

The ITRC offers a range of low and no-cost tools to help small businesses. Consumers can receive free live victim support or guidance from a knowledgeable advisor by calling 888.400.5530 or visiting idtheftcenter.org to live-chat.

About the ITRC 2022 Business Impact Report

The ITRC, with the assistance of SurveyMonkey, conducted two online surveys in August and September 2022 to explore the impacts of cybercrimes on small businesses as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Questionnaires were completed by 447 individuals that met the criteria of being a person in a leadership position or an IT professional at a company of 500 or fewer employees, including solopreneurs. For our general survey, 55 percent (55%) of this year’s survey responses reflected the answers of people at businesses with ten or fewer employees, including 17 percent (17%) who identified as solopreneurs; 19 percent (19%) of responses were from companies with 11 – 50 employees; 12 percent (12%) of responses came from organizations with headcounts of 51-200 people; and 14 percent (14%) from businesses with 201-500 employees. Nineteen percent (19%) of a social media account takeover survey reflected responses from businesses with ten or few employees, including eight percent (8%) from solopreneurs; 36 percent (36%) of responses were from companies with headcounts between 11 – 50; 22 percent (22%) of responses came from SMBs with 51-100 employees; and, 22 percent (22%) were from organizations with teams between 101 – 500 people.

By far, the largest number of general survey responses came from people who identified as a business owner or partner - 58 percent (58%) - and 28 percent (28%) were from C-Suite and Sr. Executives. The social media attack survey generated responses primarily from “Owners or Partners” - 62 percent (62%) – and Senior Leaders at 25 percent (25%).

Unless otherwise noted in a specific question, the term “breach” referred to both a data and security breach.

About the Identity Theft Resource Center

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, business and government to minimize risk and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its website live-chat idtheftcenter.org and toll-free phone number 888.400.5530. The ITRC also equips consumers and businesses with information about recent data breaches through its data breach tracking tool, notified. The ITRC offers help to specific populations, including the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/low vision communities. 

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Source: Company press release.