Panda: 46 percent of U.S. SMBs victimized in 2010

by Steve Ragan - Aug 26 2010, 14:30

A recent survey of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the globe by Panda Security shows that, despite the growth in attacks and targeted threats, SMBs are still failing to improve the basics in security.

Panda surveyed 10,000 SMBs, 1,500 of them in the United States, in order to get a sample of the state of security in that particular market. The results paint a picture of budget constraints and lackluster protection.

“Many SMBs simply don’t have the resources in terms of budget, time and human capital to devote to protecting their computers and sensitive data,” said Sean-Paul Correll, threat researcher at PandaLabs. “The study results are proof that IT service providers and vendors have an important role to play in educating small businesses on threats, and helping them determine the best way to protect themselves.”

The top figure comes from the victim count, which listed 46 percent of the U.S. SMBs that took part reporting they were a victim of some type of cybercrime in the last year. This is up two points from the 2009 Panda study on the same topic. In Europe, things aren’t any better, as 49 percent of the SMBs surveyed reported that they too were victims. However, Latin America takes the cake, with 65 percent of the respondents giving an affirmative when it comes to being attacked.

The most common attack listed was Viral, followed by Spam and Spyware. The cause for infection could be any number of things, given that 31 percent of the SMBs reported that they operate without anti-Spam solutions, 23 percent said they didn’t use anti-Spyware measures, and 15 percent reported operating without a firewall.

Moreover, there is a lack of training in IT, as almost half of the U.S. respondents admitted they offer no training, paid or otherwise, for security.

Attack vectors took advantage of missing protections, as infected USB drives, email, and Internet browsing, were the leading causes for the reported infections.  The attack vectors varied depending on geography, but remained consistent when it came to removable storage and email.

Cost is another issue, especially to the companies that confessed to having no security at all. When asked, 13 percent of the companies in the U.S. reported that no security system was in place.

“Regarding companies without a security system, perhaps the most pertinent finding is the number of companies who simply feel it is not necessary or important. One year ago, the main reason given for not installing an ant-virus was the price. This continues to be the case in Latin America (41 percent),” the Panda report said.

The entire report can be viewed by clicking here.

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