Partners with Office Depot’s Small Business Index to Identify Digital Security Vulnerabilities

"At Office Depot, we’re committed to serving the small business community and ensuring they have the necessary information and resources to grow and protect their businesses. We also recognize the importance of generating awareness of risks to the business, including cybercrime, and how to defend against it"

McAfee today announced findings from a joint survey with Office Depot, Inc. that revealed surprising security misconceptions among small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners. More than 1,000 SMBs participated in the Office Depot Small Business Index1 survey last month, and a super-majority (66 percent) felt confident that their data and devices are secure and safe from hackers, with 77 percent responding that they haven’t been hacked. The results are at odds with industry research that has revealed these same businesses are prime targets of complex and evolving cyber threats.

“Cyber attacks on small businesses rarely make headlines, so it is easy for these business owners to be lulled into a false sense of security, as indicated in this survey. It is especially important for small business owners to secure their systems, as they may not have the resources to survive a cyber attack, unlike a large corporation,” said Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27). “I urge small business owners to dedicate the necessary resources to securing their data, and support McAfee and Office Depot in their efforts to raise awareness among business owners about the importance of cyber security.”

Seventy-two percent of data breaches investigated by Verizon Communications’ forensic analysis unit were focused on companies with less than 100 employees2. The discrepancy suggests that many SMBs are not aware that they’ve been attacked.

The study also found the following:

• ‧Only nine percent of SMBs use endpoint/mobile device security
• ‧80 percent don’t use data protection
• ‧Less than half use email security
• ‧About half use Internet security
• ‧45 percent of SMBs do not secure company data on employees’ personal devices

One of the biggest reveals from the survey was that 14 percent of SMBs haven’t implemented any security measures.

“A business that doesn’t have any security measures in place is putting their data and customers’ trust in jeopardy,” said Bill Rielly, senior vice president of Small & Medium Business at McAfee. “As enterprises have increased their security defenses, hackers have started to target their attacks downstream to SMBs. We applaud Office Depot’s SMB survey, which not only took the pulse of cybercrime, but also increased security awareness among the small business workforce. At McAfee, we are focused on educating businesses on the devastating impact a cyber attack can have and the simple steps and solutions they can use to keep their businesses safe.”

“At Office Depot, we’re committed to serving the small business community and ensuring they have the necessary information and resources to grow and protect their businesses. We also recognize the importance of generating awareness of risks to the business, including cybercrime, and how to defend against it,” said Randy Wick, Vice President of Merchandising, Technology and Services for Office Depot.