In yet another warning to small and medium businesses (SMB) in particular, Kaspersky Lab has revealed that, according to a  Global IT Security Risks survey, small and medium-sized businesses are typically more vulnerable to viruses, worms, spyware and other malicious programs.  

 

According to the survey, some 63% of small companies and 60% of medium-sized organisations have faced malware within their networks over the last year. Kaspersky pointed out that this in contrast to larger companies, which tended to be more prone to other threats, such as corporate espionage, phishing and denial of service attacks.

 

The same research showed that smaller organisations implemented fewer or less well-developed IT security measures than large-scale enterprises. According to the survey, 19% of small companies and 15% of medium-sized companies agreed that they were reactive, focusing on IT security only after a breach had occurred, while less than a quarter of SMBs rate themselves as “really proactive”.

 

 

Counting in enterprises’ favour is that larger companies were found to have a higher level of awareness and IT security competency. Kaspersky elaborated that about half of these enterprises recognise only licensed and paid security solutions, while 70% of respondents from small companies and 58% of medium-sized businesses believed that unlicensed products could also provide the required protection.

 

This is something that Kaspersky has directly addressed, as only a month ago the company asserted that free internet security solutions lacked the necessary power to adequately individuals and businesses from the currently sophisticated nature of threats.

 

 

The Global IT Security Risks survey, which was conducted in July which was conducted by B2B International, collected the opinions of 3300 IT security professionals in 22 countries.

 

According to Kaspersky, the resulting findings clearly demonstrate that SMBs are at risk due to poor IT security. The company reiterated that it was essential to change attitudes towards this risk, and enhance protection levels, in order to keep businesses safe.

 

The phrase: the writing is on the wall, has simply never been more apt, as we regularly received numerous security companies all echoing the same message, that internet security is a necessity, and not a luxury.