Symantec conducted a survey on 1,425 small and medium businesses in 17 countries during the first quarter of 2009.
According to the survey reports, 94% of the SMBs mentioned protecting their information, servers and networks is extremely important for their businesses. 70% of the respondents were concerned about spam and theft of data. Inspite of being aware, SMBs neglect to take necessary actions.
SMB Security Gap: The findings of the survey revealed the, 59% of SMBs do not have protection for their laptops, desktops and servers against malware (end point protection). 42% do not have an antispam solution. Almost half, do not have backup for their desktop Pcs and finally, one-third of SMBs do not have anti- virus protection, the most basic protection of all, leaving all their important information at risk.
Reasons for security Gap: 42% of SMBs do not have enough staff for IT related activities, 41% of SMBs have staff, which are not efficient. 33% of the SMBs have no idea about the security threats, while 28% of the respondents said that they do not have sufficient time for upgrading their IT security. The average IT security budget was just $4,500 per year.
SMBs planning to rise IT budget: 50% of the respondents stated that they are planning to increase their IT security, by rising the budget for IT in the next 12 months.