A report by Malwarebytes finds that Arizona SMBs encountered over 1332 percent more malware in Q1 2017 than in Q1 2016. Only proactive cyber security can stem the tide.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 19, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Arizona suffered the country's largest year-over-year increase in malware attack attempts in Q1 2017, according to a new security research report by Malwarebytes. SMBs in Arizona clocked an incredible 1,332.8 percent increase in malware incidents over the previous year, including a YoY increase in adware incidents of 1,774.42 percent, also the highest in the nation.
SMBs in Hawaii, Alaska, and Maine also had YoY increases exceeding 1000 percent. Every U.S. state posted an increase of at least 90 percent, with 10 states exceeding 400 percent.
Many small and medium-sized companies think they're 'too small' for hackers to care about them, but any business that stores data someone else may find valuable, whether it's payment card information, employee tax data, or proprietary software code, is at risk of being hacked.
Michael Peters, CEO, Lazarus Alliance
Cyber attacks can devastate small firms, up to and including putting them out of business, explains Michael Peters, CEO of Lazarus Alliance, a Scottsdale-based cyber security governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) firm. "A multinational corporation may have the financial backbone to take the hit from, say, a ransomware attack that forces them to temporarily scale back operations or shut down some locations," Peters says.
It is not unusual for firms to lose income in the wake of a cyber attack; systems may be down or not operating at capacity for several days or weeks as the problem is fixed. A shutdown of even a few days could be enough to push a company operating on a shoestring into bankruptcy, Peters explains, because they will also be looking at very high cleanup costs in addition to lost income.
"The best way and least expensive way to deal with a cyber attack," says Peters, "is to prevent it from happening in the first place through proactive cyber security." Yet small businesses are less likely than large companies to have full-time cyber security staff, or even IT staff, mainly due to cost.
To help small and medium-sized businesses in Arizona and beyond secure their systems at a price they can afford, Lazarus Alliance stands ready to provide an alternative to a full-time, on-site security staff. Lazarus Alliance's unique Cybervisors® service allows companies of all sizes to retain the services of the best and brightest experts in cyber security, cyberspace law, risk assessments and management, audit and compliance, governance and policies, and more.
Lazarus Alliance also makes use of Continuum GRC's groundbreaking IT Audit Machine (ITAM) GRC software solution, which simplifies the governance, risk, and compliance process. By speeding up assessments and reporting by 180 percent, the ITAM saves companies time, money, and hassle while helping them stay compliant and secure.
"Many small and medium-sized companies think they're 'too small' for hackers to care about them, but any business that stores data someone else may find valuable, whether it's payment card information, employee tax data, or proprietary software code, is at risk of being hacked," Peters warns. "Hackers don't discriminate. There is no such thing as a company that doesn't 'need' cyber security."
Source: Lazarus Alliance
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