Most Small Businesses Fear Cyber Attacks, Few Take Action

New research from AMI Insurance shows that 73% of small business owners are concerned about cyber security, and one in four say they’ve been affected within the last two years.¹

Despite that concern, more than half of business owners surveyed feel confident in their current cyber security settings (54%), with only 37% intending to boost their protection within the next 12 months. 

“What we saw in the research, and this is consistent with reporting from CERT NZ, is that small business owners often think they’re too small to be impacted, or that if they are, they’ll be able to recover quickly,” says AMI Executive General Manager Consumer Brands, Paula ter Brake. 

“However, CERT NZ recently reported that New Zealanders, including business owners, lost $6.6M due to cybercrime, which is up 84% from the previous period . Cybercrime is notoriously under reported too, so it’s quite possible that the true impact is much higher.” 

AMI’s research shows that cost is the main factor holding businesses back from investing in new cyber security processes or systems, with 40% saying this is the main consideration.

AMI has recently launched a new cyber insurance solution that brings together expert help to support businesses before, during and after a cyber-attack or incident, including ransomware, business email compromise, phishing and AI-assisted scams.  In the event of a cyber-attack or incident, a panel of IT experts is assembled to help business owners minimise damage, and restore systems, so they can get back up and running quickly. 

“These days we are so dependent on our technology,” says Paula ter Brake. “The nature of cyber security is that it’s constantly evolving, so there’s a real need for ongoing protection, awareness and education. Cyber insurance can help businesses recover faster if things go wrong. 

“Although many small business owners think they don’t need to up their cyber security, or that they won’t be significantly impacted, it’s clear that in this digital age, they may be leaving themselves exposed, and the risk is only growing as we conduct our lives and businesses increasingly online.” 

AMI’s business cyber insurance taps into the expertise of global cybersecurity specialist UpGuard, which provides cyber risk monitoring, and acts as an early warning indicator of vulnerabilities to minimise the potential of cyberattacks.