Over a third of UK micro-businesses in the last year have been affected by cyber security incidents, costing them an estimated £166m collectively, according to research from GoDaddy.
The report revealed that of those small firms impacted by cyber-crime, almost a quarter (24%) suffered financial losses as a result, with 21% losing £1,000 or more. In addition, nearly half of those surveyed said they had experienced website downtime, with 25% seeing their sites offline for between three and seven days.
GoDaddy, which strives to empower everyday entrepreneurs by providing key tools and insights needed to succeed online, compiled the research in June 2021 across seven markets: Australia, Canada, Spain, France, Italy and the UK.
A fifth of businesses surveyed who had fallen victim to fraud said they worry their reputation has been negatively impacted. Indeed, supporting consumer research commissioned by GoDaddy revealed that 15% of customers said they would stop shopping with a business if it experienced a security breach. London-based consumers appear to be the most concerned, with 21% agreeing they would not shop with the business again.
GoDaddy’s study among small business owners also found that 59% do not have website protections and a further 26% report to have neither bought nor researched website protection and security solutions.
According to Ben Law, the head of GoDaddy UK and Ireland, the key to minimising financial and reputational damage is in preparation and protection. This is particularly important for those businesses smaller in size, as they arguably have more to lose
GoDaddy offers its customers easy-to-use tools to help protect their websites, including its Website Security Tool. The company also offers Express Malware Removal for websites that have become subject to external malware hacks.
“Our Website Security tool and SSL Certificates are designed to help micro-businesses protect their websites, and the transmission of data, as well as to help safeguard against service issues associated with security threats,” Law explained.
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