Kaspersky survey reveals phishing, ransomware and data theft are hitting smaller businesses hard, exposing the urgent need for stronger cyber resilience.
Small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly finding themselves on the frontline of a cyber threat landscape once associated primarily with large enterprises. A new global survey by Kaspersky shows that cyber incidents have become a near-universal reality for SMBs, with 86% of respondents globally and 82% across the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa reporting at least one incident during the past year.
The findings underline a worrying reality: for smaller organisations, a major cyberattack can have consequences far beyond temporary IT disruption. Financial losses were among the leading impacts, followed by customer data theft, service disruption and loss of control over critical IT infrastructure.
“Cyber incidents can inflict far more devastating consequences on small and medium-sized companies and, in some cases, threaten the very survival of resource-constrained businesses,” said Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform Product Line at Kaspersky.
Phishing, software and web application exploits, mass malware and ransomware emerged among the most damaging threats. Attackers are also increasingly targeting valuable information, with customer data, sensitive internal documents and employee credentials among their primary objectives.
The survey reveals that cybercriminals are concentrating attacks on the departments responsible for technology and security. Half of the most damaging incidents targeted IT teams, while 46% affected IT security departments. On average, three departments were compromised simultaneously during severe attacks.
The strategic lesson for SMB leaders is clear: cybersecurity can no longer be treated as an occasional technology investment. As attackers pursue data, financial gain and operational disruption, businesses need continuous monitoring, stronger credential controls, employee awareness and purpose-built protection.
For resource-constrained SMBs, the challenge is balancing advanced security with affordability. That balance may increasingly determine not just cyber resilience—but business survival.