What is your SMB's cybersecurity protocol? If a cybercriminal embeds viral code on your server, would you know? Do you have a cybersecurity policy that will protect you after a cyberattack? Maintaining a cyber insurance plan is one way to protect your business interests in the event of a cyber breach, but you shouldn't rely on your insurance alone. Training your staff, implementing routine cybersecurity checks and backing up company data will help you pull through a cyberattack. By doing none of the above, a data breach could ruin your small business.

Here are a couple of ways a data breach can impact your small business. At the cost of sounding repetitive, remember: only you can prevent a cyberattack.

According to Security Magazine, on 31 percent of American small business owners are proactive against data breaches. Many small business owners do without cybersecurity because they believe their business is too small a target. In truth, hackers work to take down whatever business entity they can. For the cybercriminal, it's not about taking down giants, it's about taking down whatever business has the lowest cybersecurity detail. 43 percent of cyberattacks target SMBs. Cybercriminals are betting that you think your company is safe. They use this sense of safety against you, and it costs your business mightily.

A Data Breach Costs Tens of Thousands of Dollars
It takes a little bit of time before a small business is able to make a profit. Your business might be in that situation now. You've assessed that if your business stays on its current trajectory, it'll start making a profit in six months' time, but you might not have six months. A survey run by Kaspersky Lab found that SMBs hit by a data breach spend an average of $38,000 in data breach recovery efforts. In an interview with BizTech, managing director of Kaspersky Lab North America, Chris Doggett said, \IT security needs to become a more common priority for organizations and it is [Kaspersky's] hope that these numbers will motivate businesses to take the necessary steps to implement effective cybersecurity technology and strategies to prevent having to pay an enormous cybersecurity bill.\"

A Data Breach Can Cost Your Business Its Reputation
CSO writes that \"a data breach is a PR and financial disaster. Companies often spot the intrusion too late, and respond inadequately, resulting in falling (temporary) sales and journalist outrage.\" You might remember that big box store Target was the victim of a cyberattack in 2013. Target's data breach affected 70 million customers. The cyber thieves stole credit card numbers and other financial information, and Target wasn't readily aware of the breach. As a result, Target's profit fell 46 percent. Customers felt betrayed and like the large corporation did not hold their best interests at heart. Customer loyalty quickly vanishes when the customer does not believe the business is doing all it can to protect their interests. If your SMB was breached, could it handle a 46 percent profit fall?

Your SMB is an accumulation of your life's work. Don't throw it all away because you didn't have a cybersecurity action plan. Protect your business and your customers when you get a cybersecurity policy with CyberPolicy today.