The news is full of stories about companies like Anthem, Chick-fil-A, Sony, and JP Morgan Chase losing valuable data in a cybercrime attack. It’s easy to think that these sorts of data breaches happen only to big-name corporations, but that’s just not the case.

Small companies are actually MORE likely to be targeted by cybercrime. Why? Because hackers bet on them not having the necessary security to stop them. To put it bluntly: Cybercriminals see small businesses as easy targets and they’re often NOT wrong.

In fact, small businesses make up over 35% of all cybercrime targets in the United States.

Cybercriminals need assets that they can compromise and use for attacks.

Most cybercrime is carried out through “zombie computers” that have been quietly compromised to send out spam and other attacks. Any computer will do – it doesn’t matter if it’s in the basement of a university, in the Pentagon, in Grandma’s kitchen, or on your desk.

Cybercriminals will just ask themselves one simple question: Can I break in? If the answer is yes, then the attack is worth it, no matter who the target is.

And once you’ve been compromised once, more cybercriminals will come calling. There are websites devoted to hacking that list stolen data and passwords for other cybercriminals to use, and you WILL be on their radar. Many small businesses don’t even know they’ve been compromised. Here are some troubling statistics:

• Since 2013, there has been a 91% increase in targeted attack campaigns.
• There was a 62% increase in the number of actual breaches since 2013.
• In 2014, over 600 million identities were exposed via data breaches.
• On average, 1 in every 392 emails contains a phishing attack.
• 38% of mobile users have experienced mobile cybercrime in past 12 months.

You can’t afford to take your security for granted. Anyone can be targeted by cybercrime, and it’s not a matter of IF you’ll be attacked – it’s WHEN.

That’s why it’s imperative to protect yourself with a proactive suite of IT security solutions. Our managed IT security services are your best defense against the unexpected – you can move the burden of worrying about protection off your shoulders and leave it with our team of experts.

To learn more about the security suite your business needs, contact Vertical IT at (888) 505-8215 or info@verticalitcorp.com today.