Small businesses left vulnerable to virus attacks

By ELLEN READ

As the new Sasser virus does the rounds, research shows almost two-thirds of the country's small businesses have been the victim of a malicious online attack.

Sixty-three per cent have been affected by computer viruses, according to a survey last month by the Employers and Manufacturers Association for information security company Symantec. The survey showed internet security and virus protection were the most common IT concerns among small businesses, followed by the cost of licences, upgrades, and hardware.

"It is not surprising that small businesses are very concerned about malicious code and internet security as virus writers and hackers become more prolific and more sophisticated," said Richard Batchelar, Symantec's New Zealand country manager.

"With limited resources and smaller budgets than larger organisations, small businesses can be particularly vulnerable to internet threats and often lack the appropriate protection."

One reason behind the high number of small businesses hit was that many of them relied solely on their internet service provider to protect their businesses from security threats, Batchelar said.

Of the 207 respondents, only 17 per cent had antivirus software installed and just 34 per cent had firewall software or a firewall appliance installed.

Spam is also a serious concern for small businesses. According to the survey, an average of 98 spam emails are received each day and just 31 per cent of respondents have spam filtering technology.

Batchelar said lack of money might be hindering some small companies from investing in IT security because more than half of those surveyed spent less than $19,000 a year on IT.

But the financial impact of an internet security attack - including time, lost data and repairs - was significant for a small business. It had cost one firm $100,000.

Alisdair Thompson of the Employers and Manufacturers Association said the financial cost of an attack to a small business should be a strong incentive to invest in security products.