6 Facts TikTok Can Teach You About the Effects of Cyber Attacks

A current TikTok trend helps one user bring to light the unknown realities and effects of cyber attacks on small businesses.

There is a current trend going around on TikTok where the user @medievalfilthcauldrons asks other TikTok users to stitch his original video and tell him a fact so ridiculous you didn’t believe it until you looked it up yourself. This original posting has been used by other TikTok users to share hard-to-believe facts on a wide variety of topics.

Everything from behind-the-scenes information about a certain movie to the cleanliness of your cell phone has been shared using this original prompt. However, one user used the prompt to share some statistics around the effects of cyber attacks on small businesses that need to be seen by a wider audience.

The TikTok in question was posted by @kailauli and it featured a stitch with the user @chiefgyk3d. Watch the original video about the cyber attacks posted by these users.
 

The Effects of Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses

In the video, @chiefgyk3d shares 6 facts and statistics around cyber attacks and how they effect small businesses while @kailauli reacts to those facts sharing her fist-hand experience of suffering a cyber attack that caused her small business to close. The following are the facts listed in the video along with some additional information on each.
 

• 60% of all small businesses that suffer a cyber attack close after 6 months
  Unfortunately, this statistic is true. Cyber attacks are expensive and it can be difficult for a small business to recover after suffering through one.
• The average cyber attack costs $200,000
  According to Hiscox’s 2019 Cyber Readiness Report, the average cost of a cyber attack has increased from around $34,000 to around $200,000 per single incident. This amount is often too much for a small business to withstand on their own.
• 43% of all cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses
  According to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, 43 percent of cyber attacks target small businesses, especially those in the legal, insurance, retail, financial, and healthcare sectors. The reason small businesses are targeted much more frequently is due to the fact that they often take cyber security less seriously and can be more easily coerced. Small businesses can also act as a gateway to attacking a larger corporation they may be working with.
• 14% of those small businesses aren’t able to defend themselves
  This fact goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. Since many small businesses do not take cyber security seriously, they are less prepared to defend themselves when an attack occurs. This is typically due to the fact that a small business is understandably not able to have a cyber security expert on staff.
• Small businesses wrongfully believe their business policy will cover their cyber liability not knowing that is a whole other policy
  This is a very common misconception. Most businesses assume their business liability insurance policy will cover any and all incidents that may arise with their business. However, many general policies specifically do not include cyber insurance. This is due to the fact that the losses from a cyber attack can be expensive and cyber attacks are frequent enough to be a high risk concern.

  This is why having a dedicated cyber insurance policy is the best way to protect your small business from an attack.

• Look for a Managed Service Provider (MSP)
  A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party company that remotely manages a customer’s information technology (IT) infrastructure and end-user systems. This service can help small and medium sized businesses manage the day-to-day aspects of their cyber security. This is a much more affordable way to get the IT support needed to protect your business.

Protect Your Business With Cyber Insurance

The best way to protect your business is to ensure that you have a proper cyber insurance policy in place. Cyber Insurance can help give you peace of mind in the event that your business is targeted with a cyber attack.

For more information on how Cyber Security effects those in international trade, watch our past webinar on the topic. If you are in need of a cyber insurance policy, talk to one of our Trusted Risk Advisors today to get a better idea of your risk and how to manage that risk.