Cyber hackers will always come for small businesses before they go after the giants. It’s common sense in the hunting world. Think about it—lions target the weakest prey in the herd before they even consider going after the bigger ones. It bolsters their confidence, sharpens their skills, and strengthens them for when it’s time to take on larger, more formidable opponents.
So, it’s a no brainer that hackers should set their sights on small businesses before attempting to breach larger corporations. What is surprising, though, is that the reverse has been the case for some time now.
Some hackers have bypassed easier targets, like CashMama, OnDeck, and Automatic Funds Transfer Services, and went straight for giants like Equifax and the Russian Stock Market Website. That raises an important question: why do hackers come for certain businesses, big or small?
The truth is, there are specific reasons why cybercriminals might target larger companies, and completely different reasons why they’ll come after a small business like yours.
Here are five reasons cybercriminals will target small businesses:
1. Weak Security
Small businesses often skimp on cybersecurity measures, and we all – including hackers – know it. . For most small businesses, the primary focus is generating sales. Next comes scaling up—more customers, more growth. You attend sales and management courses, and even learn to leverage IT for your business. But security? That’s often an afterthought, if considered at all. Many people believe having an SSL on their website is just enough.
In fact, a recent survey by UpCity, a Chicago-based service provider, found that only 50% of U.S. small businesses had a cybersecurity plan in place for 2022.
“It’s just an Instagram page,” you might think. “It’s just a landing page,” or “only a handful of customers visit my online store.” Many even build websites and mobile apps without any thought of security. A host of others run on weak passwords, outdated software and systems, etc. This isn’t to assign blame—it’s simply the reality, and hackers are keenly aware of it.
As earlier pointed out, when hackers operate like hunters, they target weaker prey first. They look for businesses in growth mode, hoping to exploit basic security flaws like unpatched software or weak passwords. These two issues alone are enough for a seasoned cybercriminal to slip in unnoticed. Even the cubs – amateur hackers- might struggle at first, but they’ll eventually get in.
This is the first reason your small business becomes a target for cyberattacks.
What to do about your weak Security against cybersecurity.
Strengthening your security posture is crucial to ensuring you’re not a target for cyber attacks. The specific vulnerabilities you need to fix will depend on the nature of your business and the tools you use. We can offer tailored recommendations suited to your business when you consult with us HERE.
2. You Are an Emotionally Low-Hanging Fruit
Weak security alone makes you an easy target, but for a cyberattack to happen, you have to possess something that cybercriminals want.
In most cases, this means money in your bank account, customer credit card details, email addresses, and other personal information. While your small business might not have millions of customers like the big corporations, the data you do have—credit card details, emails, even basic personal info—is just as valuable.
Hackers know that small businesses are less likely to invest in robust data protection. They look for gaps in your defenses and slip through unnoticed to mine all the info they need. Your small business may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but to a hacker, it’s a goldmine.
There’s also another layer to this—hackers often want to fly under the radar. Like robbers who sometimes flaunt their identity and other times hide it, cybercriminals operate in much the same way.
They sometimes prefer targets that won’t scream for attention. They go after businesses that will feel too ashamed or vulnerable to report the attack. They want victims that will feel guilty, scared, and isolated rather than ones who will point fingers at them.
This emotional manipulation is particularly prevalent in ransomware attacks, where hackers lock you out of critical tools or systems and demand payment to restore access. They thrive on victims who are jittery, scared, and too emotionally attached to their business to risk losing it all.
Hackers want someone who will quietly pay the ransom rather than endure the legal implications of media exposure that could arise from a public breach. It’s the perfect setup: your emotional investment in your business becomes the very thing that makes you an easy mark.
What to do about being a low hanging fruit for cyber attackers.
Your Emotion Is Not the Problem—It’s Your Strength. It is the reason you’re able to weather the darkest storms in your business. It’s not a weakness to feel deeply connected to what you’ve built—it’s the very strength that pushes you to persevere. Without that passion and emotional investment, many entrepreneurs would give up at the first sign of trouble.
But that same emotion, while powerful, can also make you vulnerable if your defenses aren’t strong. Hackers know this and use it to their advantage, banking on the fact that you’re too emotionally attached to let things fall apart.
The solution isn’t to distance yourself from your business or shed that emotional connection. Instead, you need to fortify your defenses. Invest in security. Build a wall between your business and the cybercriminals who want to exploit your emotional ties for ransom or data.
Don’t be the business that quietly crumbles under the pressure. Prepare yourself with an incident response plan—a playbook that you can turn to when things head south. This gives you control, helping you to act swiftly and confidently, reducing the chaos.
3. Being Caught in the Crossfire
Ever had to play mediator between friends, enduring stray insults while trying to keep the peace? That’s a bit like what happens in cyberattacks sometimes.
You might be targeted not because you’re the main goal but because you’re a weak link in a larger chain. Hackers might aim to breach a bigger network by exploiting your business, which might be a key to accessing something more significant. It’s like taking down a gatekeeper to breach a castle.
For example, your business could be a stepping stone to attack a payment processor, email server, or web hosting provider. Attackers might see you as a means to an end, targeting you to reach a larger goal.
But don’t think you’ll be left unscathed. Hackers will often take advantage of you along the way—your money, customer data, business secrets—they’ll make sure they get paid for their trouble.
These attacks are often more sophisticated than what small businesses are equipped to handle. At Webifant, we can build robust firewalls and alert systems to fend off such attacks. However, creating and maintaining advanced defenses can be overkill and costly for small businesses, especially since sophisticated hackers may not waste their resources on smaller targets.
So here’s the honest truth: we don’t recommend investing in high-end security systems that don’t align with your business’s size and growth. Your security expenses should match your business needs.
So how to protect your business if cyber attacks may target your partners?
Protect yourself by investing in quality security solutions that fit your growth level. Regular security audits and educating your employees on good cyber practices can significantly reduce your risk.
But since you can’t always predict attacks—even giants get hit—we recommend you create an incident response plan. This document outlines your business operations and the threats you may be susceptible to.
It also details how you’ll handle them if they lead attacks and your security can’t hold. Having this plan in place allows you to respond swiftly, protecting your business and customers. We can help you craft an effective incident response plan at Webifant Security.
4. You’re a Target of Cyber Attack Because You’re a Business
Just being a business is enough to catch the eye of threat actors. Here’s why: your business is in the business of offering goods and services. That means you’re making money, and sometimes, threat actors want a piece of that action.
In some cases, hackers see an opportunity in the data you collect from clients—data they can exploit for identity or financial fraud. Even if you’re not actively storing credit card numbers or personal details on a Google Sheet, this doesn’t mean you are not collecting data. Sophisticated analytics tools can be embedded into your systems to scan for sensitive information. This is called E-skimming.
Payment processors are hacked all the time, making it relatively easy for attackers to breach your site and steal information. And if you don’t have a website, the attack vectors are even simpler: hacking your WhatsApp, Instagram, or email to access your contacts and potentially scam them or steal their identities.
Sometimes, hackers are interested not in your customer data but in your business’s intellectual property. They might target your system to steal trade secrets or proprietary information stored on your computer, drive, or flash drive.
Being a small business also means you’ve probably faced criticism and opposition. Annoyed clients, competitors, or even personal acquaintances could have motives for wanting to see you fail. The potential sources of threats are numerous.
The bottom line: You’re at risk simply because you’re a business.
How to protect yourself from attacks because you’re a small business?
1. Consult Webifant for a thorough assessment of your security posture.
2. Implement the recommended security measures based on expert advice.
3. Conduct periodic penetration testing to ensure your defenses remain strong.
4. Prepare an incident response playbook so you’re ready if an attack occurs.
5. You’re a Target Because You Can Be Used to Spread Viruses
Ever seen how a politician leaks a false story to a few journalists, hoping they’ll spread it to the masses? That same strategy happens in cybersecurity, and it’s called social engineering. Hackers create viruses that need to spread far and wide, and small businesses, like yours, are often the perfect “patient zero.”
It’s simple—sometimes you just need to interact with an infected email, and the virus spreads to everyone in your contact list. And guess what? They’ll click on it too, passing it on to their contacts, and the cycle repeats. In other cases, the virus doesn’t even require a click. It just spreads automatically, corrupting data on phones, computers, and everything connected.
Example; Imagine you get an urgent email that looks like it’s from a trusted vendor. You open it, click on the attachment, and—boom—it hijacks your email, sending itself to every one of your contacts. By the end of the day, hundreds of people are infected, and the hacker has gained access to all their data.
Now, picture the ripple effect—one click from you could infect hundreds, maybe thousands, of others. Hackers know this, and they also know that smaller businesses are more likely to lack the cyber-awareness needed to avoid such traps.
In this scenario, you’re not the main target. You’re just a carrier, the bridge hackers use to infect others. This is similar to the famous love letter attack.
What Can You Do to Avoid Being Used to Spread Malware?
1.Invest in Cyber Education.
Train yourself and your team on recognizing phishing attempts and online threats. A reputable cybersecurity firm like Webifant Security can help prevent that one careless employee from falling for a phishing scam.
2. Install Strong Cybersecurity Measures.
Use antivirus software, firewalls, and spam filters to block threats. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), regularly update Software, limit access to Sensitive Information (SPII) , use strong passwords and a password manager, encrypt your data,
Hackers know that small businesses are often unprepared for these attacks, making them easy prey. The mindset that “we’re too small to be a target” is exactly what makes you one. In the end, protecting your business isn’t just about fending off attacks—it’s about being seen as too tough to take down. About that, you can count on Webifant Security 100%.