Tales of IT Security

My business is too small to be hacked

Many people believe that because they are small they won't be targeted by hackers or malware. The media headlines are dominated by major corporate data breaches and ransomware attacks. While you can argue that being small makes it unlikely you'll be specifically targeted, that's actually not the issue at hand.

The fact is, the vast majority of malware is indiscriminate. They are spread via email and compromised websites, targeting millions of people around the world at the same time. The malware doesn't know who you are or how big/small you are. Size does not matter! If you use email or browse websites then you are a target. If anything, smaller businesses are more vulnerable as they tend to have weaker security.

Now as a case in point, Melbourne Heart Group is a small business consisting of six specialist cardiologists. They made front page news in the media today because they succumbed to a cryptoware infection. https://www.theage.com.au/nati...

Here's some statistics to think about:

• 58% of malware attack victims are small businesses (source: Verizon 2018 DBIR)
• 92.4% of malware is delivered via email (source: Verizon 2018 DBIR)

What can I do about it?

The first step is to start with an IT risk assessment. Look at all your IT systems and analyse what the threats are. Then address each threat one-by-one,