While we often hear about cyberattacks on large companies, Quebec’s SMEs are not immune, as six out of ten of them have also been victims of an attack by cybercriminals in the last year, according to a recent KPMG survey.
The majority of these companies (74%) also believe that their sometimes older IT systems make them more vulnerable to these types of attacks, according to the report published on Tuesday.
“Small and medium-sized businesses have many competing business priorities and their capital and resources are often limited, making them a target,” said Guillaume Clément, Partner, Cybersecurity Services and President of KPMG Egyde Conseils Inc.
Two-thirds of these SMBs believe they do not have the qualified staff to monitor and manage cybersecurity risks. Only 38% of them believe that their employees are sufficiently trained to deal with it.
“Although many SMBs believe they cannot afford to hire full-time cybersecurity teams, they have several options. They cannot afford to expose their businesses to criminals,” emphasized Clément.
He says that in addition to employee training, limiting access to essential network elements and partitioning backup files from the main network are other ways to protect against these attacks.
The survey was conducted between August 30 and September 25, 2023 among 700 SME owners or managers.