It has been predicted that by 2021, the damage from cybercrime will hit $6 trillion per year – this shows just how serious cyber threats can be to businesses of all shapes and sizes. There’s a common misconception, though, among business owners that their business won’t be targeted by cybercriminals; however, every single business – regardless of its size and reputation – is at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals, and it’s important to understand that.
To help you understand how common cyber threats really are in 2020, we’ve put together a simple guide to some of the key cyber-attack statistics that every business owner needs to be aware of if they’re going to be in a position to protect their business. For everything that you should know about cyber threats in 2020, keep reading!
What does the data tell us?
It is estimated that global spending on cybersecurity will reach a whopping $133.7 billion by 2022, with an increasing number of businesses choosing to invest in support from companies like fraudwatchinternational.com, who are able to provide consistent protection and support.
68% of business owners believe that the cybersecurity risks are increasing, especially after data breaches have already exposed 4.1 billion records, and that was just in the first six months of 2019 alone.
Statistics also show that 71% of data breaches were financially motivated, while 52% of data breaches were caused by hacking, 28% utilized malware, and 33% included the use of phishing.
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What causes data breaches?
Many companies experience data breaches over the past 12 months. These breaches put their business reputation at risk, impacted their customers, and put the owners themselves – and partners – at risk.
In order to reduce the chance that your business will be impacted by cyber-attacks, it’s crucial to understand what causes these attacks – what makes data breaches more likely?
There are a number of common causes of data breaches, these include:
- Weak passwords
- Stolen passwords
- Back door vulnerabilities
- Malware
- Threats from internal sources
- Lack of proper configuration
Business spending has increased on protective measures
A business can be easy to start, but keeping it running is another matter. With cyber-attacks increasing and more threats on the rise, businesses want to ensure that they are protected at all costs. It might be easy to start up again, but getting to the position they are currently in will not be. Therefore, in this case, prevention is better than cure.
It is expected that by the end of 2020, security services will account for 50% of online business budgets. On average, a malware attack tends to cost larger companies around $2.6 million, while $3.9 million is the average cost of a data breach occurring. In terms of time, the average cyber-attack costs a business around 50 days – that’s a lot of downtime.
While cyber-attacks are a growing threat for businesses, the good news is that there is plenty of support and assistance available from professional security companies. What’s important is that an increasing number of businesses opt to invest in these services.
Also Read: Upgrading Your Business IT