Indian SMBs also experienced the highest rate of cybersecurity breaches (73 percent) within the past three years

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ESET released data from the ESET 2017 SMBs survey showing that the SMBs in India were least prepared for cyber breaches in the region, despite high cybersecurity awareness among employees.

Indian SMBs experienced the highest rate of cybersecurity breaches (73 percent) within the past three years, the highest in the region compared to Hong Kong (61 percent), Singapore (54 percent), Thailand (53 percent) and Japan (29 percent).

Despite this, the survey showed that 77 percent of SMBs in India had cybersecurity awareness programmes in place to educate employees, the highest among the Asia Pacific (APAC) nations surveyed, including Thailand (71 percent), Singapore (66 percent), Hong Kong (56 percent) and Japan (24 percent).

Indian SMBs were also most likely to have standard procedures in place for network security, with 81 percent of SMBs already having this in place.

This could suggest that while SMBs had cybersecurity measures in place, they may not be effective enough to protect the businesses from cyberattacks. Given that 83 percent of Indian SMBs indicated that their companies should be investing more in cybersecurity, the highest rate in the region, SMBs should allocate their funds wisely to secure the most critical areas.

"With cybercriminals and cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, SMBs need to look into stronger cybersecurity tools and measures to protect their digital assets," said Parvinder Walia, Sales and Marketing director for Asia Pacific and Japan, ESET. "Cybersecurity measures such as two-factor authentication can add an extra layer of security and provide businesses with a boost in protection, even if the first line of defence has been compromised."

The latest findings from ESET mirror the data on the overall perceptions and activities around cybersecurity for the region. Businesses in the region appear to be stepping up efforts in the fight against cybercrime given that a majority of businesses, regardless of size or market region, reported utilizing cybersecurity solutions such as antivirus software and firewalls.  

The survey polled 1,500 respondents with 300 respondents from small and medium businesses in each of the following markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Japan. The objective of the survey was to get a better understanding of the perceptions and activities related to cybersecurity of small and medium-sized businesses in the region.

In particular, it sought to uncover what high-level business executives and IT professionals in APAC thought about issues such as the importance of cybersecurity to business operations, the existing policies and procedures they had in place, as well as their opinions on the need for advanced cybersecurity technology such as 2FA and encryption.