THE Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) has revealed that small businesses have a higher risk of data breaches and experience the highest share of attacks among businesses.

The international study, which used data from 83 countries and is viewed as the industry standard in digital security, indicated that 43 per cent of cyber attacks target small businesses.

In 2016, the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology reported that Jamaica lost US$100 million to cybercrimes. However, with small-and-medium sized enterprises accounting for approximately 80 of jobs in Jamaica, cyberthreats to small businesses are a cause for concern.

Bevenisha Moodie, small business owner and CEO of Montage Management Consultancy Limited said that cyber threats are a real concern for small businesses. “I recently had a conversation with a fellow businesswoman whose business website suffers from thousands of cyberattacks daily; cybercrime is on the rise,” said Moodie.

She added: “As small business owners who strive to contain costs by conducting transactions online without all the security bells and whistles that larger companies have, we are faced daily with decisions that can cripple or propel our businesses [as] many of us do not have the luxury of paying for this ‘expertise’ and we must carry out these functions ourselves.”

The issues raised by Moodie were confirmed by Dwayne Walters, senior manager – SME & Partner Channels, C&W Business Jamaica.

“Traditionally, small and medium-sized businesses have not placed great emphasis on cybersecurity due to the lack of awareness about the ways in which cyber threats can cripple their business, along with the perception that they are too small to be targeted,” he said.

In a bid to assist, Walters said he and his team at C&W Business Jamaica periodically make courtesy calls to small and medium-sized businesses to discuss cybersecurity trends and proactive strategies to protect their businesses in the digital era.

Michael Burke, IT manager at Access Financial Services, said the C&W initiative is useful for businesses that are considering the next step in cybersecurity measures to protect their digital assets and to encourage consumer confidence. “For us, the visit came at the perfect time as we have undertaken projects to bolster our security systems and adhere to international data compliance regime,” he said.

Walters also underscored the importance of small and medium-sized businesses implementing simple measures, such as stronger password protection and educating employees how to spot phishing scams to protect against cyber threats.