Data theft, service disruption and permanent data loss highlight the growing cybersecurity challenges facing smaller businesses.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across Asia-Pacific continue to face significant cybersecurity risks, with 87% of surveyed IT and IT security professionals reporting at least one cyber incident in the past 12 months, according to a new Kaspersky survey.
Among the most damaging threats reported were software vulnerability exploits, mass malware attacks and incidents involving external remote access.
The consequences extended beyond financial losses. Among affected businesses, 25% reported theft of clients’ personal data, while 23% each experienced disruption of customer-facing services and theft of employees’ personal information. Additionally, 21% reported financial losses, the same proportion suffered irrecoverable data loss, and 13% experienced irreversible damage to corporate assets.
“A single incident can compromise sensitive information, interrupt day-to-day operations and weaken customer trust.” — Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Kaspersky
Data theft emerged as a key attacker objective. Stealing clients’ personal information was cited by 34% of respondents, followed by theft of sensitive internal information, such as financial credentials and legal documents, at 31%. Employee data theft accounted for 27%.
IT and IT security departments were the most frequently targeted, cited in 51% and 52% of reports about the most harmful attacks, respectively. Customer service and finance followed.
Businesses are responding by strengthening IT security monitoring, cloud controls and third-party compliance requirements, each cited by 24% of respondents. Employee training, endpoint protection, improved password policies and multi-factor authentication are also priorities.
Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, emphasised that cyber resilience requires appropriate security technology, employee awareness and consistent cyber hygiene.
Kaspersky recommends tailored protection, regular data backups, strict access controls and ongoing employee training to help SMBs reduce risks and maintain operational continuity.