Safeguarding internal data crucial for SMEs: Symantec

Source From (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/symc/Article/

Published: 13 January 2012

PROTECTING internal information is very crucial for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to become more competitive in today's world.

And more local SMEs are encouraged to go online in managing their businesses. However, one of the threats of the Internet is that SMEs are vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Symantec Corp principal consultant for AsiaSouth region, Nigel Tan, said based on Symantec's small- and medium- sized businesses (SMB) Threat Awareness Poll, there is high awareness on cyber attacks among SMEs but they do not regard themselves as one of the potential victims.

"As a result, they are not implementing proper safeguards to protect their information," he said.

The polls covered 1,900 SMBs worldwide including Malaysia to find out their awareness on security threats and how well they are prepared in protecting themselves from cyber threats.

Tan said looking forward, there are certain things that SMEs should be looking at. These are the explosion of smart mobile devices, increased cyber crime that spreads from criminal underground to business mainstream, and better critical information governance.

"We are in the digital age. It makes it easier and efficient for us to move information around but it also makes it easier for the attackers to steal.

"And it's not just attackers, it's also easy for an employee to make a copy of the data and then go off to competitors," he said.

He added that although technology is advancing and has helped build a platform for many businesses, the security of internal information for many SMEs is still weak.

"It's more efficient but is it more secure? Because you've now got another surface area for attackers to hit an organisation... With technology the question now is will my data become more secure? What happens if I lose that device?" he said.

Tan said cyber attacks could decrease business productivity, contribute to revenue loss, drive customers away, and provide hackers an access to proprietary information.

"The underlying reason for all this is always because the attackers either do it for money or for some other motives, like to bring down an organisation," he said.

Local SMEs constitute 99.2 per cent of the total business establishment, and contribute about 32 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and 59 per cent to total employment in the country.

The highest growth for SMEs was seen in the manufacturing sector, followed by construction and services sectors.