Most Small Businesses Unprepared for Cyber Criminals

A new survey by Nationwide released today reveals that almost eight in 10 small business owners (79%) do not have a cyber attack response plan, even though a majority of them (63%) have been victims of at least one type of cyber attack.

The survey was commissioned by Nationwide — the No. 1 total small business insurer — and conducted online by Harris Poll between June 8 and June 19, 2015. It focused on 500 U.S. small business owners with fewer than 300 employees, and who have at least a moderate role in employee benefit selection.

According to the survey, 79% of small business owners have no cyber attack response plan in place. When asked why not, 46% said they feel their current software is secure enough, and 40% said they do not feel their company will be affected by a cyber attack.

At the same time, 73% are at least somewhat concerned with a potential cyber attack affecting their business — especially since 63% of small business owners admit they have been victims of at least one of the following:

• Computer virus (44%)
• Phishing (30%)
• Trojan horse (22%)
• Hacking (16%)
• Data breach (11%)
• Issues due to unpatched software (10%)
• Unauthorized access to customer information (9%)
• Unauthorized access to company information (8%)