Majority of SMEs Report Cyber Incidents, Highlighting Financial and Data Risks

According to a worldwide Kaspersky survey of organizations with under 500 staff, 86% reported at least one cyber incident in the past twelve months. The most severe threats cited included phishing, exploitation of software flaws, widespread malware, ransomware, and attacks leveraging AI vulnerabilities. Financial damage emerged as the leading impact, noted by 22% of participants, with other effects such as client data theft, temporary service outages, loss of IT infrastructure control, and disruption of business processes each affecting roughly one-fifth of firms.

Some companies suffered unrecoverable data loss (16%) and irreversible damage to assets (13%). Client information was the most frequently targeted data type, followed by sensitive internal records, financial account credentials, employee authentication data, and business strategies. IT and security departments were the most commonly compromised areas. In response, firms have introduced enhanced security monitoring, tightened third-party compliance, improved credential management, invested in endpoint protection, and increased specialized IT staff training, alongside stronger backup and access-control procedures.