Study Finds 56 Percent of Small Businesses Have Experienced at Least One Security Incident in the Past Year

Study Finds 56 Percent of Small Businesses Have Experienced at Least One Security Incident in the Past Year

The Small Business Technology Institute (SBTI), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering technology education and adoption among small businesses, and Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), the global leader in information security, today announced the results of a new report titled “Small Business Information Security Readiness.” According to the July 2005 report, preventing and resolving information security incidents is a critical challenge for small businesses in the United States. The report confirms that small business information systems are increasingly vulnerable to attack, and urges the adoption of security technology, proactive policies and stronger vigilance to protect information assets and minimize business risk.

The report findings reveal that the rate of information security exposure is growing as small businesses deploy increasingly sophisticated information technology (IT) infrastructure and automate more of their business processes. The report concludes that small businesses must take immediate steps to protect themselves from the productivity and economic losses that occur when sensitive business data is compromised as a result of viruses, hackers, privacy threats or disasters.

“Small businesses represent an extremely high point of exposure for the U.S. economy based on their significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and their insufficient information security readiness,” said Andrea Peiro, CEO and practice director of Market Intelligence for the Small Business Technology Institute. “This issue is of critical importance to small businesses. Any data loss or system downtime resulting from security incidents can severely affect their ability to do business. SBTI has identified a significant opportunity for small businesses to mitigate the risks and improve operational control by embracing a proactive approach to information security based on solutions designed expressly for their needs.”

Read the complete Press Release