More small business owners concerned about cyber security threats in increasingly digitized economy
"Faced with a fast-changing landscape, small businesses are adapting by adopting more technology and adopting it faster than ever before," says
Minding the gap: Room for improvement remains for those without previous experience of a cyber security incident
While cyber security concerns are on their radar, the poll reveals that only a small number of small business owners (24%) feel 'very' knowledgeable in regard to cyber security threats. That number rises slightly to 27% among those who have experienced a previous cyber security incident. When asked if they feel prepared for a potential cyber-attack, only 16 per cent feel very prepared with 19 per cent of those who have experienced a previous incident feeling very prepared.
The poll revealed that the majority of small business owners are responding to cyber security risks by handling cyber security risks themselves (57%), rather than relying on in-house IT teams (25%) or outsourced IT consultants. In particular, those who haven't previously experienced a cyber security incident (62%) are significantly more likely to take a do-it-yourself approach compared to past victims of cyber security incidents (51%).
The most common preventative measures small businesses have taken are: installing updated anti-virus software (60%), implementing firewall security for internet connections (56%) and encrypting and hiding all Wi-Fi networks (43%).
RBC website provides tools to help small businesses protect their data
"While large organizations are able to maintain robust cyber security protocols, many smaller businesses have difficulty implementing or maintaining cyber security practices, leaving them vulnerable to cyber-attacks," adds Evans.
To address this gap, RBC created the Cyber Security Awareness and Education Website, which is designed to help business owners and the community with the latest in cyber security insights, best practices, tips, and guidelines.
To develop their cyber security mitigation and crisis management plans, small businesses can consider:
- Prioritizing measures including multi-factor authentication, mandatory employee training and limited authority to install software.
- Thinking through risks and create a prioritized list of possible cyber events unique to the organization.
- Identifying key stakeholders and putting together a list of key contact information, both technical and non-technical persons in the event their services or contact is needed.
- Outlining an engagement procedure, which will guide the organization's plan in response to a cyber event, detailing how events will be handled and communicated.
- Creating a communications template used to address impacted parties in the event of a cyber security incident.
More information on how to adequately prepare and protect your small business against cyber security incidents can be found at https://www.rbc.com/cyber-security/.
1About the Survey
The RBC 2021 Cyber Security Poll was conducted by
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SOURCE RBC
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