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Small and Midsize Businesses at Risk of Cyberattack, Says New WhitepaperWHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Oct. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Although stopping cyber criminals from accessing small and midsize enterprises' (SMEs) funds and data may seem like a formidable task, there are a handful of simple measures that companies can use to create their own cyber risk management program and limit their exposure to cyber crimes, according to a new whitepaper, entitled "What Cyber Criminals Know: Small and Midsized Businesses With Little or No Cybersecurity Are Ideal Targets," from Chubb, CoverHound and Symantec. Download the whitepaper at: https://www2.chubb.com/us-en/business-insurance/simple-measures-to-create-cyber-risk-management-program.aspx "While SME owners are aware of cybercrime, they often see themselves as too small to attract such attacks or don't see themselves as a gateway to large cyber threats," said Anita Sathe, Chief Strategy Officer at CoverHound. "When it comes to hacking, SMEs' vulnerability and state of unpreparedness make them a perfect target." In addition to exploring the ability of cyber criminals to identify specific weaknesses within SMEs, such as outdated or unpatched software, poor password hygiene, open web ports and unencrypted data in transit, the paper also offers steps SMEs can take to help shield themselves from these threats, including:
"Although SMs don't often think they are a target for cyber criminals, according to Symantec's 2016 Internet Security Threat Report, small businesses now comprise 43 percent of all spear phishing attacks, up from 18 percent in 2011," agreed Pascal Millaire, Vice President, Cyber Insurance at Symantec. "Cyber criminals can easily pinpoint SMEs with few cybersecurity measures in place, which makes the risk of a cyberattack too great to ignore," said Patrick Thielen, Senior Vice President of Chubb's Financial Lines division. "Companies can create their very own cyber risk management programs, but before anything, they need to identify what areas of their internal system are vulnerable to a breach." "What All Cyber Criminals Know: Small & Midsize Businesses With Little or No Cybersecurity Are Ideal Targets" was authored by Mr. Millaire, Ms. Sathe, and Mr. Thielen and is based on research completed by the Janet & Mark L. Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research at the University of Connecticut. About Chubb About CoverHound About the Janet & Mark L. Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research at the University of Connecticut View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/small-and-midsize-businesses-at-risk-of-cyberattack-says-new-whitepaper-300542103.html SOURCE Chubb |