With the threat landscape continuously evolving to become more advanced, TSL Tech Research tracks cybersecurity trends through our original research. As AI threat detection platforms and generative AI make staging cyberattacks easier, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may increasingly be targeted by cybercriminals.
We focused recent research into cybersecurity trends on SMBS by surveying 814 IT professionals at companies with 50 to 500 employees. When asked which areas they planned to invest in, the top response for SMBs was cybersecurity at 63%.
Our research uncovered insights into security investment trends and how employees at SMBs can support security. This information about cybersecurity trends helps managed IT providers find the right companies to partner with.
With cybersecurity emerging as a top priority for SMBs, we wanted to understand how companies are investing in cybersecurity solutions. When we asked IT professionals which IT security areas they planned to invest in, they responded:
56% Endpoint/Device Security
49% Email Threat Defense
43% Identity and Access Management (IAM)
37% Cloud Application Security
33% Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
31% Extended Detection and Response
11% Multicloud Defense
9% Cloud Native Application Protection Program (CNAPP)
5% Other
Endpoint and device security came first at 56% with email threat defense coming second at 49% and IAM finishing third at 43%.
Key Takeaways:
The top cybersecurity investment trends for SMBs reflect concerns about secure collaboration and communication across remote workforces and distributed business environments. Planned investments in IAM point to a shift toward identity-based security that comes with adopting Zero Trust principles.
Managed IT service providers should appeal to SMBs by promoting Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, security for email platforms, such as Office 365, and expertise in identity-based security.
With 65% of SMBs reporting that at least some of their employees work remotely, we wanted to gauge how confident companies are in the security of their remote computing solutions. When asked if they felt solutions for remote computing were becoming more or less secure, IT professionals at SMBs responded as follows:
38% More secure
35% About the same
20% Less secure
Almost 40% of the SMBs surveyed feel remote computing solutions are becoming more secure while 35% felt the level of security had remained the same. Only 20% reported that remote computing solutions have become less secure.
Key Takeaways:
With over a third of SMBs expressing confidence in remote computing security, IT service firms should emphasize their expertise in remote solutions, such as endpoints and mobile devices. To overcome the reservations of those who feel these solutions are becoming more risk-prone, managed IT providers should promote how they are addressing security for remote working environments.
At SMBs, employees can either be a security asset or a liability, depending on whether they encourage workers to support cybersecurity. We asked IT professionals what they recommend as the #1 way to help employees support IT security.
Their responses were:
40% Conducting regular security awareness training
22% Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) reinforcement
13% Simulated phishing attacks
10% Clear IT security policies and best practices
8% Teach email and website verification skills
4% Incident reporting & response training
3% Secure remote work & BYOD training
Security awareness training was the top result by a large margin at 40%. Other lower-ranking responses addressed specific areas of awareness training, such as email verification, incident reporting, and secure remote work. The third-ranked choice, simulated phishing attacks at 13%, could also be considered part of awareness training, as it teaches employees how to detect and avoid suspicious emails. MFA reinforcement came in second at 22%, reflecting a concern with employee access management practices.
Key Takeaways:
IT service firms that offer security awareness training should create campaigns that focus on these offerings. For SMBs that lack cybersecurity expertise, making employees accountable and knowledgeable is a cost-effective approach.
IT service firms can use the insights gathered from our research into cybersecurity trends to design marketing campaigns that better target, engage, and convert SMB customers.
TSL Tech Research generates reports of our online survey finding to distill valuable information about how the way companies use technology is evolving. We can help your IT services firm conduct your own survey or participate in one of our paid surveys.
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