A new report from security platform Alert Logic has found that small-to-midsize (SMB) businesses are highly vulnerable to attacks because of a lack of skilled cybersecurity practices. These weaknesses include issues in encryption, workload configuration, limited visibility and outdated and unsupported operating systems.
Here are noteworthy findings from the Alert Logic report:
- 66% of small-to-midsize (SMB) businesses rely on versions of Microsoft operating systems which have expired, or will expire by January 2020
- Over 30% of SMB email servers operate on unsupported software, including Exchange 2000
- Encryption issues affect 33% of SMBs investigated for the report. “This indicates encryption is not yet an instinctive behavior despite being a best practice and a requirement of many regulations,” states the report
- 75% of SMBs leave vulnerabilities unpatched
“The continued lack of skilled cybersecurity professionals affects organizations of all sizes, and small and midsize businesses are at greater disadvantage because they can’t scale like large organizations can,” said Onkar Birk, senior vice president of product strategy and engineering at Alert Logic.
“[Vulnerable] organizations will greatly benefit from partnering with providers who can augment their limited teams with threat intelligence and experts to be more secure and compliant. Alert Logic’s research confirms that SMBs would benefit from more cost-conscious security options to take some of the responsibility off their shoulders,” he continued.
What You Can Do:
- Prepare your business to migrate to operating systems which will remain supported after January 2020
- Patch any vulnerabilities in your workload configurations
- Ensure compliance with any relevant regulations and requirements by integrating best practices for encryption
Contact a trusted managed services provider for a consultation or additional information.
Cynexlink
16520 Bake Parkway Suite 125 | Irvine CA 92618
www.cynexlink.com | 949.668.0682
