Recent research shows that as much as 62% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been impacted by ransomware attacks that originated through software supply chain vulnerabilities. This alarming statistic is prompting 90% of businesses to increase collaboration with software suppliers to bolster their security practices. Weaknesses in supply chains are a significant concern for SMBs, with 91% of respondents worried about the impact of downstream software supply chain or third-party and connected partners.
This is leading nearly half (49%) of these businesses to consider changing their vendors. Ransomware attacks remain a serious issue. In a recent survey, 48% of respondents reported experiencing an attack, with 73% of those incidents occurring within the last year.
Smbs bolstering security against ransomware
While ransomware impacts SMBs slightly more than large enterprises, the margin is small: 76% of SMBs versus 70% of large enterprises experienced an attack in the past year. Recovery after an attack varies.
Positively, 97% of respondents managed to restore their company’s data, although 46% had to pay a ransom to do so, and 31% paid over $1 million. The rise in attacks is partly attributed to the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) by cybercriminals. Over half (55%) of respondents believe their company is more at risk due to AI-enhanced ransomware, and 45% have noticed an uptick in phishing attacks utilizing AI.
The evolving cyber landscape sees AI being used in both cyberattacks and cyber defense, posing new challenges for traditional spam filters and antivirus systems.
