Viruses, Trojans, data-stealing malware, and data leaks were rated as big IT concerns among small businesses, according to Trend Micro's 2010 corporate end-user survey, which included 1 600 end-users in Germany, Japan, the UK and the US.
On average, 63% of small businesses were most concerned by viruses, 60% by Trojans, 59% by data-stealing malware (malware designed by cybercriminals specifically to steal data), followed by 56% by data leaks ie, the intentional or unintentional sending of sensitive or crucial information outside the corporate network. Phishing scams and spam were least concerning among the small businesses surveyed.
"What this tells us is that data loss, either through internal data leaks or malware, is a serious issue for small businesses, especially as they become more aware of their attractiveness to cybercriminals," commented Lee Bristow, Product Manager at SecureData for Trend Micro products. “It would not be surprising to see data-stealing malware and data leaks pushed up to number one and two on this list in the next few years."
Despite these worries, the survey found that across all countries, small organisations are 23% less likely to have preventative data leak policies in place than large companies.
The biggest difference was found in Japan, where 81% of large companies have data leak prevention policies in place compared to only 47% of small companies. For those businesses that have preventive data leak policies in place, employees in large companies are also significantly more likely to have received training on data leak prevention than those in small companies.
This is worsened by the fact that employees within large companies indicate more awareness of confidential business information than those in small companies. Employees in large US companies are significantly more likely to indicate data leaks as a serious threat than those in smaller companies: 74% in large companies, 49% in small companies.
In the UK, this is also significant: 73% of employees from large companies say they are aware of confidential information compared to 63% from small companies. Also worth noting is that in every country, employees in larger companies are significantly more likely to agree that other employees have leaked data from within their organisation.
The survey found that the most prevalent forms of IT protection against data stealing malware is installing security software, restricting Internet access and implementing security policies. Even then, 21% of small business employees still say their IT departments can do a better job at protecting them on potential risks associated with data-stealing malware. More alarmingly, more than one third (35%) of employees in small companies indicated their IT department could have done a better job educating them about data stealing malware.
“Education, combined with the right security technology specifically designed for your small business, is crucial in the fight against cybercrime,” continued Bristow. “For years, small businesses have turned to Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security for easy, effective protection against spam, viruses, spyware, phishing attacks, hackers and other threats before they reach your company. The latest version 7 of Worry-Free Business Security now includes e-mail data loss prevention that enables small businesses to keep information private by discovering, monitoring and preventing accidental or deliberate loss of confidential information through e-mail; integrated Mac-client protection, a feature perfect for small businesses that are running both Macs and Windows because it allows them to secure their iMacs, Mac Servers, and MacBooks without purchasing or managing additional solutions and includes a single console provides security status and configuration for both platforms; and device control that controls access to USB drives and other attached devices to prevent data loss and block threats, thus enabling businesses to restrict access to USB ports to avoid anyone copying information to portable USB drives.”
“The Trend Micro Smart Protection Network system delivers the infrastructure behind many Trend Micro products and solutions that stop social networking threats,” concluded Bristow. “It uses a number of patent-pending technologies and combines Internet-based (or 'in-the-cloud') technologies with lighter-weight, client-based methods to ensure small businesses have immediate access to the latest and strongest protection wherever and however they connect, whether this is from home, within the company's network, or on the go.”
SecureData Africa, part of JSE-listed SecureData Holdings, is the sole sub-Saharan distributor for Trend Micro.
For further information, please contact Lee Bristow at tel. +27 11 790 2500; fax +27 11 790 2599; e-mail leeb@securedata.co.za.
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