The Bible uses the now-famous parable of the house “built on the sand.” When the rains came, and the storms hit, the house fell because it did not have a firm foundation. Unfortunately, many cyber departments are constructed the same way. They have survived the last couple of years without a major incident, so they believe they are secure.

A recent article released by Help Net Security revealed that Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are increasingly confident that their organizations will not suffer from costly cyber attacks. In fact, the number of CISOs who believe they are likely to suffer an attack in the next twelve months has dropped by almost 16%! Yet, the problem with this stat is that very few of these CISOs have made any significant improvement to their security environments to reduce attacks. Instead, the increased confidence in the resiliency of their departments stems from the idea that they didn’t get attacked last year. Such confidence makes little sense.

If police inform you that there is a crime spree in your neighborhood, do you ignore them because you didn’t get robbed last year, or would you take extra care to ensure your house is protected? If your doctor says you are at risk of a life-threatening heart attack, would you ignore him because you didn’t suffer a heart attack last year, or would take steps to protect yourself? Most people would consider ignoring such warnings to be irrational. Yet, this is what many CISOs are doing about cyberattacks.

The truth is that cyber experts across the world are raising the alarm that attacks are coming. Statistics support their statement. Statistics from April 2022 show that the number of organizations suffering from cyberattacks has increased by 600%. Likewise, the cost of such cyberattacks has increased by more than 15% each year. Even worse, these attacks aren’t being aimed at large corporations, governments, and big businesses that can defend themselves. They are targeting the ‘little guys’.

Almost half of all cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses. Unfortunately, most small businesses are easy targets for even the most unskilled attackers. Reports show that less than 30% of small businesses take even the most basic steps to defend themselves against financial loss from cyber attacks. Such a statistic is unsurprising when reports show that less than 5% of small business owners consider cybersecurity a high concern for their business. Such ambivalence to a significant threat is shocking when one realizes that 43% of all cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, and more alarming when one realizes that half of all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go out of business after a single cyberattack.

If you are a small or medium-sized business owner or CISO, don’t let yourself be fooled by overconfidence. Attackers are coming for your business and your employees. It only takes one attack. Take steps now to defend yourself and your company.

Quality defenses and tools can be deployed cheaply and efficiently. If you want to find out if your business is ready to defend against cyberattacks, Liberty Cyber Solutions is here to help. Reach out to us today to find out how to avoid becoming the next cyber victim without breaking your budget.