The perception that cyber attackers only target large enterprises is dangerously outdated. Recent data from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre shows that 39% of UK businesses identified a cyber attack in the past twelve months, with small and medium-sized businesses disproportionately affected relative to their security budgets.
Attackers follow the path of least resistance. Smaller organisations frequently lack dedicated security teams, run unpatched systems, and have limited visibility into their own networks. This makes them attractive targets -- not because of what they hold, but because of how easy they are to compromise.
The financial impact extends beyond direct losses. Regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and operational downtime can threaten the viability of a business that was already operating on tight margins.
What can smaller organisations do? Start with the fundamentals: asset inventory, patch management, multi-factor authentication, and a tested incident response plan. These are not expensive measures, but they require commitment and consistency.
At STG, we work with businesses of all sizes to implement pragmatic, right-sized security that protects without overwhelming. The goal is not perfection -- it is resilience.