If given the chance to name the first five businesses that come to mind, what would they be? Maybe if you are close to the security industry you might suggest names like Microsoft, Apple or Google. Maybe your mind may drift to giants such as Disney, Coca-Cola, Amazon or Walmart. What if we consider what would be top of mind for threat actors, would the list be the same? In 2020 the U.S Small Business Administration reported that there are 6 million small businesses with fewer than 500 employees in contrast to around 20K large businesses. Small business made up for over 10 million new jobs in the last decade compared to around 5 million for large businesses. While we may forget about this massive attack surface, our adversaries have not.
According to RiskRecon, during 2020 and 2021, data breaches at small businesses globally jumped 152%, while during the same time period breaches at larger organizations rose 75%. Just like a contractor wouldn’t use the same tools, techniques, and tactics to dig a post hole as they would for a swimming pool – malicious actors adjust what they target to ensure they effectively compromise the vast landscape of small business.
Read more at: https://www.cxotoday.com/cxo-bytes/small-business-mighty-attack-surface/