About three in four (74%) small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India witnessed a cyber incident in the last 12 months, resulting in 85% losing customer information to malicious actors, in addition to a tangible impact on business, according to the  Cisco study. 

The report titled Cybersecurity for SMBs: Asia Pacific Businesses Prepare for Digital Defense, found that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India are exposed, under attack, and more worried about cybersecurity threats than before.

More than half (62%) of SMBs in India that suffered cyber incidents in the past 12 months said that cyber-attacks cost their business more than INR 3.5 crore. Of these, 13% say that the cost was over INR 7 crore.

The study is based on an independent, double-blinded survey of over 3,700 business and IT leaders with cybersecurity responsibilities across 14 markets across the Asia Pacific region.

The survey highlighted that SMBs saw several ways in which attackers tried to infiltrate their systems. In India, malware attacks, which affected 92% of SMBs, topped the charts, followed by phishing (76%). 38% of those that suffered incidents said that the number one cause was not having cybersecurity solutions. Meanwhile, 36% ranked cybersecurity solutions not being adequate to detect or prevent the attack as the number one reason.

Besides the loss of customer data, SMBs that suffered a cyber incident also lost internal emails (73%), employee data (71%), intellectual property (74%), and financial information (75%). In addition, 73% of those said it disrupted their operations, 76% admitted it negatively impacted their reputation, and more than half (70%) said it resulted in a loss of customer trust.

However, SMBs are rising to the challenge. The study highlights that they are taking strategic measures like carrying out simulation exercises to improve their cybersecurity posture.

"As they digitize, SMBs are embracing the fact that any transformation, especially one that allows them to meet customers where they are and build trust, must begin with cybersecurity," said Panish PK, Managing Director - Small Business, Cisco India & SAARC. "However, given that they typically operate with limited resources and smaller teams, simplicity is the key to successful security deployments. According to the study, most SMBs (97%) feel that they have too many technologies and struggle to integrate them. At Cisco, we're committed to working with India's small and medium-sized businesses to help simplify and fortify their threat response and ensure infallible safety of their employees, assets, and customers."