Half of Small Medium Enterprises feel unprepared for cyber-threats.

A report carried out by Jumpsec found that 49% of Small Medium Enterprises felt that they lacked the staffing and funding needed to effectively deal with cyber threats from organised crime groups. As part of the report, 612 UK and US IT decision-makers were interviewed in which it was revelae that 49% of SMEs have experienced lay offs with 28% expecting more lay offs within the next 6 months with 71% revealing that these cuts could result in increased risk to their organisation.

45% of these SMEs have already experienced a cyber attack within the first half of 2024 with 28% experiencing two attacks and 17% experiencing three attacks and 5% suffering from more than three attacks. 60% of respondents said that security is the number one challenge that they face in the workplace.

JumpSec’s report revealed that Shadow IT was the number one concern for IT teams 84% of respondents concerned and 35% very concerned, Shadow IT results in a lack of visibility and control of devices and applications across a organisation which will increase threat identification times. The average device landscape for organizations within the report made up of 63% Windows, 24% macOS and 18% Linux. 22% revealed that they had no software as a service management or asset management solution which would significantly help with managing Shadow IT.

The report also identified concerns around AI with 61% agreeing that AI is outpacing their organization’s ability to protect against threats. 25% reported experiencing AI-generated attacks in the first half of 2024. Plans for SMEs to implement AI initiatives for their organisation within the next six months also increased from 27% in Q1 2024 to 35% in Q2 2024.    

To learn more about Shadow IT, you can read the NCSC’s guidance on the subject which covers definitions and mitigations: Shadow IT guidance - NCSC.GOV.UK