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Written by Marcin Kleczynski, CEO & founder, Malwarebytes
As the spectre of a recession looms, the sting is being felt by startups, scaleups, and other small businesses. In the UK, prior to her resignation, former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that energy bills would be cut by half over winter. This undoubtedly helped mitigate some concerns; against the backdrop of rising inflation, smaller organisations need all the help they can get.
As wallets become thinner, it might seem tempting to cut costs on security. However, this can spell disaster, especially for small businesses; more than half (60%) go bust within six months of getting hacked.
This is a particularly pressing issue in Europe, which has seen a gradual uptick in cybersecurity attacks in the last decade. Companies must protect themselves against cybersecurity risks and not push them to the bottom of the pile. Most notably, ransomware attacks are on the rise, persisting as the primary method of cyber intrusion, thanks to the sheer financial gain that fraudsters stand to make from exploiting users. In Britain alone, the estimated cost of attacks is £27bn per year. It’s no wonder, then, that demand for cybersecurity roles in the UK increased by 22% in the last year – but skills gaps can make these roles hard to fill.
The tight budgets that early-stage founders are operating with exacerbate this. As cybercriminals get richer, businesses’ finances are dwindling as they fight another battle: the cost-of-living crisis. With increased electricity costs weakening bricks and mortar-based businesses, and the ongoing question of how much to balance salaries against rising inflation without gutting the business, it’s a difficult time for all entrepreneurs. Small businesses must learn a stern lesso ..
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