Data protection increasingly crucial for small businesses, says Swansea firm

With the Petya cyber attack coinciding only a few weeks after the worldwide WannaCry ransomeware attack, the issue of data protection has never been more important.

Although many of these attacks have hit large organisations like the UK’s National Health Service, a Swansea-based IT expert is warning that SMEs are being targeted with increasing frequency.

According to Small Business Trends, 43 per cent of cyber attacks are targeted at small firms, and 60 per cent of businesses affected by cyber attacks go out of business within a few months.

Data protection is a legal requirement, and it’s essential if you want to protect and maintain business operations effectively. In the UK, firms are expected to ensure information is kept safe and secure.

Cyber attacks can compromise this information, and businesses can face a plethora of devastating effects. These include  loss of consumer trust, major problems with business systems and, ultimately, financial loss.

Simon Ahearne, managing director of  IT and comms firm SA1 Solutions, believes that all businesses need to understand the importance of IT and server security if they’re to avoid attacks. 

He claims that small businesses cannot ignore the need for a robust cyber security system, since cybercrime costs small businesses disproportionately more than their bigger counterparts when adjusted according to organisational size. 

Ahearne said: “The number of small firms going out of business as a result of a cyber-attack is shocking. One of our main queries of late is smaller business owners getting in touch for help after an attack has already happened.

“Business owners must realise that taking action to prevent such security breaches and potential data loss should be top of their agenda. You should be confident that your customers’ data and indeed your own, is protected.

“Reputation and consumer trust is of the highest priority for businesses and not abiding by preventative measures endangers this and ultimately leads to huge financial losses.”

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