Small businesses -cost of cyber attacks close to $9,000 average

A recent study revealed that small business owners are stuck with major costs as a result of cyber attacks.  

According to the “2013 Small Business Technology Survey” (PDF), small companies lost around $8,700 on average following these incidents.

Conducted by the National Small Business Association (NSBA), the survey polled 845 small business owners across industries in the U.S. In the study, 44 percent of respondents reported that their business had been struck by a cyber attack, which was defined as being infected by malware, such as spyware or banking trojans.

“Perhaps the most important statistic gleaned from this section [on cyber security] is the fact that nearly half of small businesses report having been the victim of a cyber attack,” the report said. “These attacks result in significant losses of time and services interruptions, and typically cost these firms thousands of dollars.”

NSBA last conducted its technology survey in 2010.

In both the 2013 and 2010 studies, security concerns about their company's use of technology were among the top challenges for respondents. In 2010, 52 percent of small business owners said security issues were their biggest challenge from a technology use standpoint, while 42 percent said the same this year.