Some Immediate Attention Drawing Issues, Obstacles to SMBs’ Growth

The major business organization FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) of UK, the lobbying agency for SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) has stated that problems, including computer viruses, hacking as well as data security violations act as hurdles for SMBs in achieving growth, and so these cannot be ignored any further, published telegraph.co.uk dated May 21, 2013.

A study paper by FSB indicates that Internet offence accrues an expenditure of 785m pounds/annum to 200,000 small businesses combined, alternatively 3,750 pounds/ annum per SMB.

Since 2012, 41% of the combined SMB units got victimized with cyber-crime, mostly via
client or customer driven frauds, alternatively through "card-not-present" conditions implying 'product buying' over the Internet, mail or phone.

While PC-viruses struck 20% of survey participants, 8% and 5% stated they'd been victimized with hacking and data infringements, respectively.

Further according to FSB, the above news raises concern owing to dual factors: one, it's suggestive of the presence of Internet dangers vis-à-vis SMBs, and two, other SMBs that aren't still doing business online, are likely to be hesitant towards adopting the method, in spite of bigger and long-run financial advantages accruing from it.

Specifically, as per FSB, the wider trading market could bear still much profound costs from cyber-crime, since smaller businesses wouldn't conduct trading operations online out of fear that existing measures of safety weren't adequate.

And though an enormous segment of survey participants got hit with cyber-crime, nearly 533 firms (or 20% of respondents) stated they hadn't deployed a fresh method for safeguarding own firms. However, about 960 firms (or 36% of respondents) stated they routinely loaded software patches towards remaining safe from fraud, while nearly 6 out of every 10 respondents stated they routinely made personal anti-viruses up-to-date for averting maximum Internet-crime.

Chairman Mike Cherry of National Policy, FSB summarized the problems while launching the report to the audience that online-crime imposed a growing as also genuine threat to SMBs, therefore, the problem couldn't be ignored. Although plentiful firms would adopt measures for safeguarding themselves, yet the expenses following such crime could be an obstacle to growth, the official added. V3.co.uk published this dated May 22, 2013.

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