Maintaining small business security in cyberspace

According to a recent survey by automated security solutions provider nCircle, 87 percent of small and medium-sized businesses do not have adequate disaster recovery plans in place and nearly half (45 percent) don't enforce security policies.

This is especially worrisome considering smaller companies' propensity to be more heavily hit by data breaches. Customers concerned about the safety of their personal data will not hesitate to take their business elsewhere, which could prove catastrophic for a company. In an already fragile economic climate, security problems may act as the last straw for those that were already barely staying in business.

"The number of small businesses that have no written security or disaster recovery plan is a significant concern," said Elizabeth Ireland, vice president of marketing for nCircle. "It seems counterintuitive, but even though smaller businesses have fewer resources, they need to pay more attention to security rather than less."

A November survey by Symantec revealed many entrepreneurs are complacent about their companies' risk of cyber-attack. Half of the 1,900 small business owners surveyed believed their businesses would not be targeted due to their diminutive size.