A quarter of UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are leaving themselves vulnerable to threats in IT security, according to new research on behalf of communications provider KC. Key findings from the research include:

Despite 92 per cent of small business owners polled valuing IT security as important (36 per cent) or very important (56 per cent) for their business, a quarter (25 per cent) fail to use any form of IT security software
Threats to security are increased for most businesses by their failure to install security software on their mobile phones (67 per cent don’t), despite over a third (35 per cent) indicating mobile devices are regularly hooked up to their office network

The results indicate that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are leaving themselves vulnerable to attacks that could lead to the loss of important information and productivity through systems failure, or worse; theft of financial data and money. KC is calling on small businesses to step up their IT security and protect their business.

Tracey Hannan, IT security specialist at KC, explained: “The internet is vital to the operations of most businesses these days. But by not taking adequate security precautions, small businesses are playing Russian Roulette every time they go online, open an email or connect a mobile phone to their computer to download music. This may sound dramatic, but when you consider that each security breach costs between £10,000 and £20,000, in a tough economic environment this can mean make or break. No one would knowingly leave their office or shop unlocked at all times, so why do it online?”

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