| Currently most small business professionals in Canada risk their businesses and reputations on poorly managed and poorly supported unencrypted computers that are vulnerable to theft, loss, attacks and computer failure. They go on either oblivious to or ignoring the dangers of unsecure computing. |
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"Secure computing itself is more than protection from hackers, intrusion and theft of data. It is about getting up in the morning and knowing you are going to have an uninterrupted, productive day." |
The dangers abound. According to Google, 325,000 websites contained malware, up from 150,000 a year ago.1 According to McAfee Labs, in the second quarter of 2009 spam has jumped 80% from the previous quarter.2
According to Websense, 61% of the world’s top 100 websites delivered something malicious to visitors because a hacker broke in and planted something nefarious.3 In the second quarter of 2009, more than 14 million computers were enslaved into cyber-criminal botnets -that’s roughly 150,000 new infected machines every day.4 Over 95 percent of user generated comments to blogs, chat rooms and message boards are spam or contain malicious links.6 It is estimated that at least 40% of all computers have had malware and according to AMI-Partners 20% of small businesses say they would experience catastrophic personal and professional consequences from a single data breach.7
Secure computing itself is more than protection from hackers, intrusion and theft of data. It is about getting up in the morning and knowing you are going to have an uninterrupted, productive day. A relationship with a secure computer is low maintenance.
| Canadian small businesses need help. Mobility, mounting electronic threats and the increased complexity of managing data security means more risk -- leading to data loss, compromised client information and business interruptions, even failures. |
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“70 per cent of Canadian small businesses (1-99 employees) state data security is a high business priority” |
Most Canadian small businesses still have only basic data protection on their computers, yet cite data security as one of their highest priorities. According to research firm AMI Partners, 70 per cent of Canadian small businesses (1-99 employees) state data security is a high business priority -- the highest among all categories including business insurance, CRM, business mobility, accounting and audit services7
At the same time they have very low usage rates of sophisticated security products such as identity and access management and intrusion detection. Why? Complexity, time and cost are all factors. In a tough economy, smart businesses will want to ensure they are spending as much time as possible on revenue-generating activity. Small businesses who know the importance of protecting their most valuable corporate asset, their information, and who have a cost effective, trouble free solution, will do well.
The primary factor influencing spend on security is protecting the IT environment from electronic threats -- cited by 87 per cent of Canadian small business owners (AMI).
The 2007 report on PIPEDA from the Canadian Federal Privacy Commissioner finds Canadian businesses need to do a better job of locking up personal digital information they collect from their customers. The report found that nine out of 10 Canadians whose personal data was compromised were put at risk because their information was stored in an insecure electronic format without a firewall or encryption technology.
As security threats continue, the need for data protection will continue. The Canadian Small Business IT security market is the fastest-growing sector of IT spend -- expected to grow at roughly 13 per cent over the next few years to $500 million by 2012 (AMI).
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