Cybersecurity is no longer a “nice to have”… it’s mission critical. A friend of mine sent me a staggering — and I do mean staggering — collection of statistics last week that really hammered this home for me (which I’m calling “cyber stats”). But, despite companies taking greater and more frequent pains to protect themselves, the numbers speak a chilling truth: cyber threats are growing, and businesses are more vulnerable than ever.

Let’s break the stats down.

Understanding the Present Cyber Landscape

The frequency of cyberattacks is almost mind-boggling. With 800,000 attacks per year, the math boils down to a cyber attack occurring every 39 seconds. Just pause and consider that.

In the time it took you to read this paragraph, a business just faced a cyber intrusion.

Healthcare, a sector with the most intimate details about our personal lives, is at the forefront of ransomware attacks. According to the independent, international CyberPeace Institute, 103 hospital and patient care facilities were the victims of ransomware attacks in 2021, 60 more than in 2020. Put another way, that’s nearly a 240% increase in ransomware attacks against hospitals or other patient care facilities — in a single year!

Beyond hospitals, though — our most relied upon systems are gaping intrusion points that companies are struggling to plug. A whopping 92% of malware makes its way to systems through emails.

Even websites aren’t spared. At any given point in time, 4.1 million websites are infected with malware. To make matters worse? Businesses, on average, took 49 days to recognize a ransomware attack.

An Alarming Past That Foretells Our Future

Reflecting on 2022, some numbers paint a rather ominous picture. There were 2.8 billion malware attacks in just the first half of the year, and a staggering 255 million phishing attacks reported. If that’s not alarming enough, 71% of businesses admitted to succumbing to ransomware attacks, according to Statista.

DDoS attacks, which grew by 60% in the first half of 2022, don’t just steal; they cripple businesses by overwhelming their servers.

The variety of attacks are increasing, the success rates are still sky high, and businesses are still gravely at risk.

The Corporate Response to Cybersecurity

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Recognizing the gravity of these threats, 66% of CIOs have voiced plans to ramp up investment in cybersecurity. With global cybersecurity spending expected to hit a whopping $23 billion in 2022 and projected to rise to $188 billion in 2023, businesses are gearing up for the challenge.

However, there’s a talent crisis. More than half of the surveyed respondents highlighted a shortage in cloud/IT architecture skills. The stress is palpable among CISOs, the sentinels of organizational cybersecurity, with 60% reporting considerable stress linked to their roles.

The Cyber Stats Bottom Line

In the vast and complex digital landscape, trying to navigate cybersecurity challenges alone is akin to sailing turbulent seas without a compass. That’s where Managed Service Providers (MSPs) come into play (especially for SMBs). An MSP, like us here at Leverage, offers not just tools, but expertise, strategy, and the proactive monitoring required to stay ahead of threats.

Think of us as your technology co-captains. We’re not just here to patch vulnerabilities, but to understand your business, anticipate risks, and integrate robust cybersecurity measures seamlessly into your operations.

So, before your business becomes one of these statistics, give us a shout. Connect with us today, and let’s chart a course to a safer, more secure digital future for your business.