SMBs Concerned About Tightening Security Budgets Despite Increased Risks

OpenText released results of the OpenText Security Solutions 2022 Global Small-Medium Business (SMB) Ransomware Survey. Findings show growing concern about ransomware attacks, the impact of geopolitical tensions and rising inflation rates. Eighty-eight percent of respondents noted they are concerned or extremely concerned about an attack impacting their business.

“SMBs are a sweet spot for hackers to exploit because they often lack cybersecurity resources, both technology and security expertise,” said Prentiss Donohue, Executive Vice President, OpenText Security Solutions. “Today’s complex threat landscape presents a huge risk to SMBs that don’t have sufficient cyber resiliency preparation to stop the spread and recover quickly from an attack. With adversaries becoming increasingly sophisticated and relentless, a multi-layered protection strategy is no longer a nice to have, it is a necessity.”

Spotlight findings:

SMBs fear tightening security budgets amid growing concern of increased ransomware risks due to heightened geopolitical tensions.  

• More than half (57%) of SMBs are worried about their cybersecurity budget shrinking amid rising inflation rates.
• Fifty-two percent of respondents feel more at risk of suffering a ransomware attack because of heightened geopolitical tensions.
• Eighty-four percent are concerned about a ransomware attack impacting their business.

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There’s a concerning lack of awareness among SMBs when it comes to knowing if they’ve suffered a ransomware attack. Meanwhile, budgets to protect against these risks are low.

• Nearly half (46%) of SMBs have experienced a ransomware attack, yet 67% still don’t think or aren’t sure they are a ransomware target.
• The majority (60%) of respondents are not confident or only somewhat confident that they can fend off a ransomware attack.
• Despite many having experienced an attack before, security budgets are minimal to protect against ransomware and other threats:
  • 60% spend less than $50,000 per year.
  • 50% spend less than $20,000 per year.
  • Only 10% spend more than $50,000 per year.

Managed service providers (MSPs) are an appealing security option for SMBs to offset resource constraints.  

• More SMBs outsource their security to an IT provider or MSP than not, with 58% using external security management support.
• Concurrently, 65% of SMBs that don’t currently use a MSP would consider doing so in the future.

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