Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) need to do to more protect against the risk of cyber attacks, according to new research.
The study – conducted by Ponemon Institute – concluded that senior figures within businesses are ignoring the issue.
Around 2,000 companies from across the world were surveyed on their attitudes to cyber security, with 58 per cent of them confirming that those at the helm do not view it as a necessity.
Among the reasons why include insufficient budget – which 42 per cent of firms cited – and an absence of in-house expertise, which was a problem experienced by a third of those the survey questioned.
Gerhard Eschelback, the chief technology at Sophos, said: “This research shows that many SMBs [SMEs] are failing to appreciate the dangers and potential losses they face from not adopting a suitably robust IT security posture.”
He added that he believed the scale of cyber attacks was “growing every day”.