Download the PowerPoint 
By Maria Valdez Haubrich
While tech security experts and law enforcement report that cyber-criminals are increasingly focusing on small businesses, entrepreneurs don’t agree. In October, authorities in the Ukraine arrested five people who allegedly stole $70 million from U.S. bank accounts by targeting small and midsized businesses in the U.S. But in a recent study sponsored by Visa Inc. and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA),
small business owners surveyed said most cybercrime focuses on large companies, and didn’t believe it was worth investing in online security.
Nearly 50 percent of small business owners in the survey said the threat to their companies isn’t big enough to justify the high cost in time and money to fully secure their businesses. Seventy-five percent of owners said their employees have received less than three hours of network and mobile device security training in the past year; 47 percent said their employees received no training whatsoever.
Why are small business owners not doing more to protect their companies? According to the survey, over 85 percent of small business owners believe they are less of a target for than large companies. What’s more, 54 percent believe they are more prepared to secure sensitive customer and corporate data than large businesses. And 84 percent contend they already have policies and procedures in place for securing data and computer systems.
“The greatest threat to a company’s cybersecurity is complacency,” said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA. “We encourage small business owners to take the necessary precautions to protect their customers, employees and their businesses.”
Rosetta Jones, head of public affairs for Visa, says the company offers guidance to help small businesses with cyber security at www.VisaSecuritySense.com, or at the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC) small business site, www.pcisecuritystandards.org/smb. The PCI SSC maintains a list of payment applications that comply with Payment Application Data Security Standards, using secure coding procedures to guard against common attack methods.
When it comes to crucial business and customer data, it’s impossible to be too cautious. Make sure your business is doing what it must to protect itself online—even if it requires some time and money.
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/ncsa/46105/
