SMBs Fear Security Budget Cuts as Inflation Bites

Most (57%) small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are worried about their cybersecurity budgets being reduced amid a surge in ransomware, according to a new report from OpenText Security Solutions.

The security vendor polled over 1330 security and IT professionals from SMBs of up to 1000 employees, in the US, UK and Australia, to compile its 2022 Global SMB Ransomware Survey.

Despite many SMBs having suffered a serious attack in the past, budgets are already low, the report found.

Half (50%) of respondents spend less than $20,000 annually, with only 10% spending more than $50,000 per year. In addition, most (68%) have fewer than five people working on security.

However, most SMBs surveyed are concerned that rising inflation will force business leaders to further trim cost from this part of the organization.

That’s particularly concerning given the persistent threat from ransomware. Nearly half (46%) of SMBs polled admitted they have suffered an attack in the past, and a similar number (52%) believe they’re more at risk today because of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Prentiss Donohue, executive vice president of OpenText Security Solutions, argued that SMBs are a “sweet spot” for cyber-criminals due to a relative lack of the right security technology and in-house expertise.

“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,” he added. “With adversaries becoming increasingly sophisticated and relentless, a multi-layered protection strategy is no longer a nice to have, it is a necessity.”

However, remarkably, two-thirds (67%) of survey respondents claimed that they don’t think or aren’t sure if they’re a target. That’s despite the large number having already suffered a ransomware attack.

Most (60%) said they are either not confident or only somewhat confident they could repel an attack.