Why Growing SME Interest in Crypto May Raise Cyber Security Questions

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When it comes to the issue of cybersecurity, it is very often the case that small businesses are more in need of tips and tricks on how to tackle issues than their larger competitors. After all, while big companies tend to boast both the time and resources required to carefully analyze the area, smaller firms often only have so much that they can devote to the issue.

However, a trend identified in some new research may just suggest that some small businesses will need to up their game on a range of security techniques in the months ahead.

An accepted payment method

According to a study undertaken by Zogby Analytics on behalf of Hartford Steam Boiler, more than a third of small and medium-sized enterprises in the US have taken the step of deciding to accept cryptocurrency.
The study also highlighted that the level of interest in such digital forms of currency was highest among new firms, with 50 percent of SMEs that have been operating for five years or less choosing to accept crypto. In contrast, just 21 percent of businesses that have been operating for over 20 years have chosen to adopt such payment methods.
The findings featured in the study have come at a fascinating time for cryptocurrency, which is seemingly continuing to take steps towards the mainstream. For instance, it was recently confirmed that the National Bank of Egypt has signed an agreement to establish new channels for remittance with Ripple. As this page on the Ripple price explains, the cryptocurrency is thought to be the third-largest currently in operation with a market cap of $10.4 billion.

SME security concerns

Swith cryptocurrencies like Ripple attracting an increasing amount of interest, perhaps it makes sense for small businesses to have one eye on the area and be prepared for the moment when consumers want to pay for goods or services with them. However, such firms should also be wise to the fact that their efforts on security may need to increase.

While research by CipherTrace recently found that the value of cryptocurrency thefts and hacks dropped significantly last year, another study by the Ponemon Institute released in October suggested that small firms could run the risk of being targets for such activity.

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It revealed that 76 percent of SMEs in the US had experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months, which marked a rise from the figure of 55 percent recorded in 2016. In addition, 45 percent of organizations described their IT posture on such issues as ineffective, while 39 percent said they had no incident response plan in place.

Part of the discussion

Considering all of that, it seems clear that small businesses that are examining the potential of accepting cryptocurrency should ensure that the quality of their cybersecurity systems is assessed as part of that discussion.

With so many smaller firms facing cyberattacks in recent years, a failure to ensure robust systems are in place could have significant consequences as they work hard to try grow their offering.