Data breaches are a significant problem. In 2017, there was a record number of breaches in the US with 1537 known breaches and 179 million records stolen. This was a 50% increase on the previous year.

While some small businesses believe that they are too small to be targeted, this is not how cybercriminals think.

In contrast to popular beliefs, cybercriminals prefer to target smaller businesses. This is because they generally have poorer security than larger corporations.

Knowing You Have Had A Data Breach

One of the biggest challenges you will have with data breaches is knowing when one has happened. Unless information has been corrupted, then it can be difficult to know when a data breach has occurred.

There are cases when cybercriminals will encode data and demand a ransom before releasing it back to you. Alternatively, as they did with Ashley Madison, they will release the details of your customers, suppliers or business information.

But sometimes, the crimes do go unnoticed.

Developing A Data Breach Response Plan

If you don’t already have a data breach response plan, you need to create one as there’s a high chance that your small business could be targeted.

The first aspect of the plan is to check your insurance. There are specific policies which need to be in place before an incident happens. When you realize that you’ve had a data breach, it’s your insurers that you should contact first.