Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Seventy-Three Percent of Business Owners Have Not Tested Their Websites for Cyber Security


September 2011 SB Authority's Market Sentiment Survey Results

NEW YORKSept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services, (NASDAQ: NEWT), The Small Business Authority with a portfolio of over 100,000 business accounts, announced today the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of approximately 1,200 respondents, one of the key findings from the September survey was that only 27 percent of small business owners' have had an outside party test their computer systems to ensure they are hacker proof.  In addition, 39 percent of business owners stated they do not have their data backed up in more than one location.  
Barry Sloane, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority commented, "The Small Business Authority market sentiment survey focuses on issues of security and risk reduction for small businesses.  With recent breaches of security at Citi Bank, Sony and The Pentagon, small business owners shouldd be concerned and take precaution to ensure their confidential business information is protected.  Our survey demonstrates that very few business owners have taken a necessary precaution of having a professional data security firm perform a current assessment of vulnerabilities on their commercial website or database applications.  65 percent of business owners surveyed seem unaffected by natural disasters and 61 percent seem to think their data is backed up in multiple locations.  We believe that small to medium sized business owners need to review all aspects of their data security and disaster recovery efforts."  

The full September 2011 results showed the following:
Poll Question
Poll Answer
Percentage
Have you ever had an outside party test your computer systems and data to ensure they are hacker proof?
YES
27%
NO
73%
Have you ever been denied access to your business because of a snowstorm, hurricane, tornado or other natural disaster?
YES
35%
NO
65%
Is your data and business information backed up in more than one location?
YES
61%
NO
39%

Disqus for ePayment News