Scams and phishing make up 85% of online
threats for small businesses in the US in 2023, yet many lack the
budget and tools to protect themselves
TEMPE,
Ariz. and PRAGUE,
Sept. 27,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Norton, a leading consumer Cyber
Safety brand of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), today announced Norton Small
Business, the all-in-one cybersecurity solution to help
entrepreneurs and small business owners protect their financial
futures. While nearly 90%1 of businesses globally are
small businesses - 99.9% in the US2 - many lack the
means to protect their digital environments. Norton Small Business
makes triple-lock protection accessible for small businesses to
safeguard their team's online activities, devices and customer data
in an easy, all-in-one cybersecurity solution.
"Owning a very small business often means each member of the
team wears different hats, and usually cybersecurity expert isn't
one of them," said Massimo Rapparini, General Manager & Head of
Small Business Safety at Gen. "Unfortunately, cybercriminals are
aware of this and often target such businesses – more than half
(57%) of small businesses experienced a security, data breach or
both in 20223. For entrepreneurs and small businesses,
falling for just one phishing email can have a devastating
impact."
Scams Taking Down Small Businesses
Small businesses
face a barrage of scams and phishing threats, just like consumers.
In fact, they are targeted more than large companies. Companies
with fewer than 100 employees face an average of 350% more social
engineering attacks than larger enterprises4, and
according to data from Gen, cyber threats that rely on manipulating
people account for 85% of attacks on small businesses in the US. Of
these threats, phishing – for example, emails trying to trick you
into clicking a link or transferring money – is the most common way
cybercriminals try to access small business systems, private data,
financials and intellectual property.
Businesses with under 10 employees often lack IT support,
putting companies at great risk if cybercriminal attacks are
successful – and many are. In 2020 alone, there were more than
700,000 attacks against small businesses totaling $2.8 billion in damages5. Norton Small
Business helps small businesses disaster-proof their critical data
to minimize the risk of financial loss.
Entrepreneurs Pursue Financial Freedom
Entrepreneurs
often start their own businesses in pursuit of financial freedom
and invest significant time, energy and personal savings to build
their business. In fact, 61% of Gen Z small business owners believe
entrepreneurship will lead them to retirement earlier than if they
had gone straight to the corporate world6. Yet, small
businesses are being heavily targeted by cybercriminals, leaving
them at much higher risk of collapsing compared to larger firms
when hit by a cyberattack.
With heightened risk and so much at stake, it's surprising that
about half of businesses with under 50 employees have no
cybersecurity budget at all7. The effects of a
cyberattack extend beyond financial consequences, and it's time
cybersecurity is pushed to the forefront of small business
priorities.
Setting Up Your One-Person IT Department
Norton is
your go-to partner to make small business cybersecurity simple with
an all-in-one solution that provides 24/7 cybersecurity protection
and a variety of features, including:
- Secure Browser, Password Manager and VPN (virtual private
network) to help secure day-to-day online activities
- Automated PC cleaning and optimization to keep healthier PCs
for longer
- Secure Cloud Backup for PCs to help reduce the risk of loss of
business data
- Software and driver updaters to help keep software up to date,
so there are fewer vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to
exploit
- IT coverage and maintenance for up to 20 devices
- A 100% Virus Protection Promise8
"We've built our small business products and services with the
same approach in mind as we do with our consumer portfolio, so
entrepreneurs don't need to worry about becoming cybersecurity
experts," said Rapparini. "Norton is here to make cybersecurity
accessible and easy so they can focus on building thriving
businesses."
Norton recommends these top 10 tips to protect your small
business:
- Learn to spot signs of phishing and teach your
employees
- Only click links or download attachments from known
sources
- Avoid sharing personal information or private company data over
email
- Always keep your operating system, applications and
drivers up-to-date
- Make sure your WiFi network is protected with a strong
password
- Regularly back up your data
- Require employees to use a VPN when doing company work on
a public WiFi network (think airports and coffee shops)
- Always use multi-factor-authentication for an extra
layer of protection
- Don't neglect mobile devices – make sure they are password
protected and use security software
- Invest in a cybersecurity solution such as Norton Small
Business
Norton Small Business is available now with prices starting at
$59.99 for the first year with
options for 6, 10 or 20-device plans. For more information, please
visit norton.com/products/small-business.
About Norton
Norton is a leading Cyber Safety brand of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), a
global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its
family of trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast,
LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. Gen empowers
people to live their digital lives safely, privately, and
confidently today and for generations to come. Gen brings
award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online
privacy and identity protection to more than 500 million users in
more than 150 countries. Learn more at Norton.com and
GenDigital.com.
1 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Finance, 2023,
World Bank
2 The State of Small Business, US Chamber of
Commerce
3 2022 Business Impact Report, Identity Theft Resource
Centre
4 Spear-phishing report: Social engineering and growing
complexity of attacks, 2022, Barracuda
5 Protect Your Small Business from Cybersecurity
Attacks, 2021, US Small Business Association
6 Gen-trepreneur Z is making its mark on the future of
small business, 2022, Microsoft
7 Survey Findings: SMB Cyber Readiness - Cyber Risk
Insight Index, 2022, Corvus
8 Virus Protection Promise: You must
have an automatically renewing device security subscription with
antivirus for the virus removal service. If we are unable to remove
the virus from your device, you will be entitled to a refund based
on the actual price paid for the current term of your subscription.
If you have a subscription from NortonLifeLock purchased with
either another offering from NortonLifeLock or a third party
offering, your refund will be limited to the price of only your
subscription for the current term, not to exceed the total price
paid. Any refund will be net of any discounts or refunds received
and less any applicable taxes, except in certain states and
countries where taxes are refundable. The refund does not apply to
any damages incurred as a result of viruses.
See norton.com/virus-protection-promise for complete
details.
Brittany
Posey
|
Cassie
Boehmer
|
Gen
Press@GenDigital.com
|
Edelman for
Gen
Cassie.Serra@edelman.com
|
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SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.