Protecting Small and Medium-Sized Businesses from Cyberthreats
The massive economic impact of small and medium-sized businesses
It’s easy to think of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as the local retail shops we frequent and the various contractors we employ for home projects, but they’re much more than that — and their economic impact is massive.
A 2023 report by McKinsey started with the statement, “Small and midsize businesses … represent a massive segment of the US economy — 44 percent of GDP, close to half of all employment, and half of the roughly $370 billion in overall tech spending.” SMBs are major contributors to world economies and internet service providers (ISPs) are well-positioned to provide them with foundational security defenses.
So, we’re pleased to partner with Comcast Business to power their SecurityEdge service and help protect SMB subscribers from cyberthreats. Based on Akamai Secure Internet Access, SecurityEdge covers workplaces and includes features to help protect workers when they use PCs, mobile phones, or tablets away from the office.
Worldwide threats and global impacts on SMBs
There is no reason to believe that the economic impact of SMBs is any smaller in countries other than the United States — and the impact may well be even larger in countries that are focused on manufacturing.
SMBs are also major participants in supply chains, not only as consumers, but also as enablers and producers of products and services used by other businesses. As a result, they have additional strategic impact.
Bigger is not necessarily better for threat actors
Attackers don’t have to target large businesses exclusively to monetize their efforts. Today’s exploits can be built with sophisticated infrastructure that’s adaptable, scalable, and resilient; and now organized crime groups provide resources. According to Matt Carey, Head of London Operations Team at the National Cyber Security Centre, the internet offers organized crime groups with lucrative opportunities to exploit SMBs in particular.
The Internet is a major enabler for Organised Criminal Group (OCG) activity. Compared to making money from more traditional crimes, hacking individuals, [SMBs] and large organisations is a relatively low-cost, low-risk proposition for criminal groups — and there are many parts of the world where such activity is not actively prosecuted by the authorities.”
— Matt Carey, Head of London Operations Team
Although the average individual yield may be less for SMBs than for large companies, there are far more SMBs. It can also be easier to breach the defenses of smaller organizations that don’t have sufficient security expertise, tools, and training. Additionally, remote work and more devices connected to the internet from outside workplaces can create even more exposure.
A cyberattack on your small business may cost you big money
Cyber exposure for SMBs is real. Hiscox, a global insurer of small businesses, stated in their Cyber Readiness Report 2022, “One of the most telling findings in this year’s report is that the cyber threat is now seen as the dominant risk to business in seven out of eight countries — ahead of the pandemic, economic downturn, skills shortages and other issues.”
Costs are real, too. The Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2022 Business Impact Report showed that nearly half (45%) of small businesses spent between US$250,000 and US$500,000 to cover costs of their breaches; 17% spent between US$500,000 and US$1 million.
To provide even better visibility into the exposure SMBs face, Comcast recently worked with Akamai to publish their 2023 Small Business Cybersecurity Report, offering an inside look at the phishing, malware, and bot activity observed in anonymized data from the SecurityEdge service from July 2022 to June 2023.
A few highlights from the report, which also covers the scale and scope of the malicious activity that was deterred, include:
- 52,025 — phishing attempts on small businesses blocked per day, on average
- 45,734 — small businesses prevented from accessing websites associated with malware per day
- 4,910 — small businesses blocked from malicious bot activity per day, on average
Akamai Secure Internet Access protects millions of internet users
Akamai partners with more than 60 large ISPs and mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world to help secure internet access for more than 500 million SMB and consumer subscribers. The Akamai Secure Internet Access portfolio allows service providers to offer business owners and families:
- Effortless security defenses just like those of enterprise networks
- Protections for all their devices, wherever they may roam
- Leading dynamic threat intelligence built by experts who process real-time anonymized internet data gathered via sophisticated artificial intelligence techniques
- Graphic portals and easy controls to personalize their business or home internet
An exclusive focus on ISPs and MNOs
Akamai has large development teams that are focused exclusively on building products that allow ISPs and MNOs to:
- Expand service offerings
- Run networks more cost-effectively
- Protect business-critical and customer-facing resources
Providers can move beyond speed and reliability and differentiate service offerings based on security. Subscribers get tangible value with effective security solutions that are pervasive, comprehensive, and easy to use.
