SMEs seen willing to spend 17% more to boost cybersecurity

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Asia Pacific intend to increase cybersecurity budget by 17 percent in the next three years to beef up defenses against hacking and other cybersecurity incidents that could cause business disruptions, according to a study by Kaspersky.

More than half of the respondents expressed the need to raise the level of their cybersecurity expertise, which requires higher spending, the technology company noted.

The 17-percent projected increase for the region is higher than the global average of 14 percent.

“Increasing spending on cybersecurity is a right step toward building companies’ defenses against cyberattacks and protecting their assets against black swans that 2023 may bring,” said Chris Connell, managing director for Kaspersky at Asia Pacific.

On average, SMEs invested about $150,000 in cybersecurity out of the overall $375,000 budget for information technology (IT), Kaspersky noted.

The additional spending is expected to address their most concerning cybersecurity issues, which are primarily related to data protection.

“Nowadays, when infrastructure becomes more complex and cyberattacks become more sophisticated, businesses are becoming more cyber aware and better understand the need for protecting every asset inside the organization,” Kaspersky vice president for corporate products Ivan Vassunov said.

A recent survey by Kaspersky revealed that miscommunications between company executives and their IT departments could lead not only to additional costs to recover from cybersecurity attacks but could also weigh down workplace morale.

The study explained that the “breakdown in communication” often resulted in “serious project delays” and “waste of budget.” Almost a third of the respondents said they had experienced such issues more than once.

“In addition to worsening business indicators, unclear communication with IT security employees also affects the emotional state of the team and makes executives question IT security employees’ skills and abilities,” the study said.

Some 28 percent of the respondents said the misunderstandings made them lose confidence in the safety of their companies’ cybersecurity defenses.