Over 21% of MSMEs across globe became prey to cyberattacks: Sophos survey

More than 21% of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the globe have fallen victim to cyberattacks in the past year, according to a survey by British information technology (IT) security company Sophos.

“Cybercriminals are relentlessly trying to exploit organisations with techniques ranging from phishing emails to the more recent trend of ‘hacker pen-testing’ to find weaknesses in their surface area,” said Sunil Sharma, managing director sales, Sophos India and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). “As a result, businesses of all sizes need 24/7 monitoring and management of what is happening on their network, yet many of them do not have the expertise, can’t keep up or don’t have the security teams in-house to optimally configure and manage security around-the-clock,” he added.

The company surveyed more than 3,100 IT decision-makers, of which 1,550 were from MSMEs of 12 countries: the US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, India and South Africa. 

The survey also revealed that, despite the intensity and magnitude of attacks, businesses are not prepared to defend themselves against determined attackers. 

MSMEs – which account for more than 90% of all businesses and around 70% of jobs worldwide – play a pivotal role in stimulating economic growth and providing employment for vulnerable groups such as women, young entrepreneurs, and poor communities, the report said.

Sharma added that a synchronised security approach is key to better protection from cyber-threats.

Sophos in news 

June 2019: In the first week of June, Sophos said it had acquired Indianapolis-based Rook Security which provides organisations with threat-hunting services and responds to threats once they are discovered. 

May 2019: Online collaboration tools provider TeamViewer said that it is teaming up with Sophos to offer IT administrators a solution for initiating remote troubleshooting sessions from within the endpoint management firm’s mobile platform.

February 2019: Sophos’ senior security expert John Shier had told TechCircle that India is still plagued by older generations of cybersecurity threats and is potentially the top target for ransomware.