60% Of Small Companies That Suffer A Cyber Attack Are Out Of Business Within Six Months.

The U.S’ National Cybersecurity Alliance found that 60 percent of small companies are unable to sustain their businesses over six months after a cyber attack. According to the Ponemon Institute, the average price for small businesses to clean up after their businesses have been hacked stands at $690,000; and, for middle market companies, it’s over $1 million.

Recent events have proven that nobody is safe from the threat of cybercrime – not large corporations, small businesses, startups, government agencies or even presidential candidates.

Small and mid-sized businesses are hit by 62 percent of all cyber-attacks, about 4,000 per day, according to IBM. Cybercriminals target small businesses because they are an easy, soft target to penetrate. They steal information to rob bank accounts via wire transfers; steal customers’ personal identity information; file for fraudulent tax refunds; and, commit health insurance or Medicare fraud.

Merit Technology Consultants  offers a Fully Managed Cybersecurity service. High level overview of the solution:

  • Ransomware prevention
  • Suspicious login detection by employees
  • Best practices instruction and enforcement for each employee
  • Prevention of unauthorized new user creation
  • Prevention of access to sensitive computers, such as business owners computers or accounting computers
  • Proactive remediation of the most severe Internal Vulnerabilities
  • Vulnerability scan to level required for PCI and/or HIPAA Compliance

These necessary items are part of the Merit Technology Consultants  optimal solution for our clients in The Woodlands Area:

  • Updates - Keeping computers and network equipment updated is one of the most effective steps to preventing a possible network security issue.
  • Firewall - A common mistake in business networks is the lack of a business grade firewall solution. Often business owners are unaware of the difference between having a network router and having a network firewall in place.
  • Passwords - Passwords and password protection are proving to be an area that needs attention when discussing network security. Using sophisticated software and tools, hackers are easily gaining access to small business networks through simple or default passwords
  • Antivirus/Antispam - Most people know that antivirus and antispam software are necessary components of network security, but many people don’t realize why it’s so important to use a business grade product until their computer or network is infected with a virus, malware, spyware, or a host of other potentially dangerous issues.

No matter the size of your business, network security is a definite requirement for every business in the digital age. If you are worried or unsure of where to start our team can help get you on track with an internal security audit.