SMBs are just as likely, if not more, than large enterprises to be targeted by cybercriminals, according to a Tuesday report from Untangle. SMBs are, however, much less equipped to deal with the results of a successful breach.

Less than 30% of the 350 global SMB respondents have an IT security professional on staff, and 50% distribute IT security responsibilities across other roles, according to a press release on the report. Similarly, the report found that many SMBs have an underfunded security budget.

SEE: Network security policy (Tech Pro Research)

The report found that Firewall/Network issues were of the greatest concern for SMBs, especially when they begin to deploy infrastructure to the cloud and provide access to larger numbers of devices across networks.

Some 47% of respondents noted that their organization had security budget constraints. Additionally, 37% reported that their organization lacks the time needed to research and understand new threats.

Half of the organizations noted that they had budgets of $5,000 per year or less, according to the report. Half of those, however, had less than $1,000 per year to spend on security.

Of organizations that experienced a cyberattack in the last year, 33% experienced phishing attacks, 27% malware, and 15% ransomware.

“SMBs have less expertise and fewer dollars to dedicate to IT security, but they are the primary target of a growing number of phishing and malware threats, particularly as they move towards more cloud-based tools,” Scott Devens, chief executive officer at Untangle, said in the release. “This report confirms that SMBs are in dire need of easy-to-deploy, intuitive solutions to protect their networks that don’t require hiring additional personnel or time-intensive commitments from existing staff.”

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

  • SMBs are just as much, if not more, likely to experience a cyber attack than large enterprises, according to a report from Untangle.
  • The report also found that many SMBs lack the funds needed to squash their security threats.