“We’re Too Small to Be a Target” – The Worst Cybersecurity Strategy Ever

SMBs love telling themselves that hackers only go after big companies. Reality check: Hackers don’t care how big you are. They care how easy you are to hack. If your business has money, data, or anything remotely valuable (which it does), you’re already a target.

Cybercriminals don’t sit around picking and choosing their victims. They automate attacks, cast wide nets, and see who takes the bait. They're already ahead of you if you’re not thinking about security.

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1. Hackers Love SMBs Because You're Easier to Breach

Most SMBs think they fly under the radar. But here’s why you’re actually more at risk than the big guys:

• You have money. That’s all hackers need to know. Whether you make £100k or £100M, they want a piece of it.

• You don’t have a security team. Hackers know SMBs often lack the resources to detect and stop attacks.

• You’re connected to bigger companies. Supply chain attacks mean hackers breach SMBs to infiltrate larger partners and vendors.

• You have employees clicking on things they shouldn’t. And if they’re not trained, they’ll keep doing it.

💡 Example: A UK-based engineering firm (with under 50 employees) was hit with ransomware because an employee clicked a phishing email. The attackers encrypted all their files and demanded £75,000. No cybersecurity team, no backup strategy, and they had no choice but to pay.

The lesson? SMBs aren’t flying under the radar—they’re low-hanging fruit.

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2. Cybercriminals Automate Attacks—They Don’t "Choose" Victims

Most SMBs imagine hackers as shadowy figures carefully selecting their next target.

Wrong. Attacks are automated.

• Phishing emails are sent in bulk to thousands of businesses, waiting for someone to click.

• Brute-force attacks cycle through username/password combos until one works.

• Malware exploits known vulnerabilities—and most SMBs don’t patch fast enough.

  
  

If your business isn’t prepared, it’s not a matter of if you’ll be attacked—it’s when.

💡 Example: A small law firm got breached because an employee reused a password from a leaked database. Attackers ran automated credential-stuffing attacks and gained access to sensitive client files. They weren’t chosen. They were just one of thousands of businesses hit in the same attack.

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3. SMBs Get Hit Harder Because They Can’t Afford Downtime

A cyberattack isn’t just an IT problem — it’s a business killer.

When an SMB gets hit:

• Operations grind to a halt. No emails, no access to systems, no business.

• The cost of recovery is brutal. Ransomware demands, incident response fees, and legal costs add up fast.

• Customers lose trust. If their data gets stolen, they’ll take their business elsewhere.

💡 Example: A small retail business in London suffered a point-of-sale (POS) system breach. Hackers stole customer payment details for months before anyone noticed. By the time they did, the company had to shut down due to reputational damage and financial losses. Big businesses bounce back from cyberattacks. SMBs? Not always.

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4. How SMBs Can Stop Being Easy Targets

Good news: You don’t need an enterprise-sized budget to improve security.

Here’s where to start:

Train Your Team

Security awareness isn’t optional. Your employees need to know how cybercriminals target them and how to avoid falling for scams.

✅ Teach them to spot phishing emails.

✅ Run phishing simulations.

✅ Make reporting security incidents easy.

Enforce Strong Passwords & MFA

Weak passwords are a hacker’s dream.

✅ Use password managers—so employees don’t rely on “Fluffy123.”

✅ Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) everywhere. Yes, it’s annoying. Do it anyway.

Back-Up Everything

If ransomware hits, your backup is your get-out-of-jail-free card.

✅ Store backups offline (so attackers can’t encrypt them).

✅ Test them regularly—a backup that doesn’t restore is useless.

Keep Software Updated

Outdated software = easy access for hackers.

✅ Apply patches and updates as soon as they’re available.

✅ Enable automatic updates where possible.

Have a Plan

When an attack happens, knowing what to do next is everything.

✅ Have an incident response plan so no one is scrambling in a crisis.

✅ Know who to call (IT, legal, cyber insurance, law enforcement).

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Final Thought: SMBs Aren’t Off the Hook—They’re the Main Target

Cybercriminals aren’t skipping over your business because you’re small. They’re targeting you because you’re easier to hack.

• You have money. That’s all they need to know.

• You don’t have a security team. That makes it easy.

• You think it won’t happen to you. That’s their biggest advantage.

  
  

If you’re not actively protecting your business, you’re already a target. Fix it. 🤙