When it comes to cybersecurity, what’s the difference between SMBs and large enterprises?

If you guessed that the difference is related to the number of cyberattacks, then you’d be wrong.

SMBs suffer just as many cyberattacks as large enterprises.

The difference between Enterprise and SMB network security

So, then, when it comes to cybersecurity, what’s the difference between small and large businesses?

Well, we wondered the same thing, so we conducted a survey and learned that many of the issues are similar except for one key factor.

When it comes to cybersecurity, the main difference between large enterprises and SMBs is related to the size of the IT staff dedicated to cybersecurity.  Some SMBs, especially those on the small size, don’t have any dedicated, in-house IT staff at all!

The cyber threats facing SMBs

In some extreme cases, there’s a significant lack of awareness and knowledge about the potential damage that cyberattacks can create. Among others, there’s not even an awareness that the business should be protected from cyberattacks in the first place.

This is a big problem. As IoT and connected devices proliferate, proper network management and cybersecurity become ever more critical for SMBs.

This is because the threats targeting SMB networks never cease to evolve. A toxic brew of ransomware, phishing, malware, and data exploitation poses a threat to SMBs throughout the world.

In 4Q 2019, Allot detected an average of 124 threat events per customer per month, of which 93% of those threat events were phishing attacks or adware. These threats included more than 50,000 unique malicious URIs. The biggest attack category is related to attacks delivering adware of some sort, followed by downloaders, malware that can be used to deliver really any other malicious payload the attacker desires.

As it stands, with all the new tech and software applications we all use, even small business networks are increasingly difficult to manage. Add that to the growing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks and it’s not a surprise to see that a solution is needed. The growing prevalence of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) practices further increases the risk infection of the business networks. Yet, many small businesses lack the necessary security expertise.

How to set up effective network security for SMBs

So, what’s the answer?

From our perspective at Allot, the research has uncovered an exceptional opportunity for communication service providers (CSPs).

CSPs have a unique position in the market because they are able to touch all network traffic in and out of increasingly complex SMB environments, on fixed, on mobile, and even on WiFi.

A network-based solution for SMB network management and cybersecurity offer from CSPs provides the advantage of covering the full gamut of smart devices without needing to bring them under management individually. CSP solutions of this type are also deployable to the entire customer base easily, which is another distinct advantage to other SMB network management and cybersecurity solutions on the market.

Allot’s recent MobileTrends survey shows that around 60% of users are willing to consider getting cybersecurity support from their service provider, although only 11% were already paying for such a service.

To address the critical need and demand among SMBs, we recently introduced a new solution to the market.

BusinessSecure: simple & reliable network security for SMBs

Allot BusinessSecure guarantees a simple, reliable, and secure network for the connected business. This is achieved through a small firmware agent installed on the business router, supported by the Allot Secure cloud and a mobile application. These elements, working in concert, provide unprecedented visibility into the network and block both external and internal attacks.

By offering BusinessSecure to their SMB subscribers, network operators can help to keep their customers protected, as well as increase connectivity revenue by 10-15% by leveraging existing Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). With little to no added expense, CSPs can provide effective security services that protect all of the devices in SMB customer networks.  It’s a true win-win.

To learn more, you can get in touch with me or can read more here.

There’s even a short video about BusinessSecure online now.