“It is the right of every business to be cybersecure,” says Dr. Shekhar Pawar, founder and CEO of SecureClaw Inc., Doctorate from SSBM Geneva, Switzerland.

DOVER, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES, October 24, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- According to research studies conducted by Dr. Shekhar Pawar during his doctorate studies in cybersecurity at SSBM Geneva, Switzerland, top management of small and medium businesses or enterprises (SMBs or SME companies) from 19 countries participated in his research. His research paper was published in 2022 with the title "LCCI: A Framework for Least Cybersecurity Controls to be Implemented for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)" in the International Journal of Information Management Data Insights by Elsevier. More than 56% of these participant organizations did not have any cybersecurity framework or standard in place. Among all participant SMEs, around 34% never had any security awareness training for their employees. SMEs or SMBs that have faced cyberattacks shared their bad experiences, which include malware attacks, phishing attacks, insider threats, web attacks, and ransomware as the top five areas of concern.

Cyber-attacks like malware, phishing, ransomware, web attacks, or man-in-the-middle attacks can be prevented using good technical controls, whereas along with technical controls, cybersecurity awareness training can help in lowering the risks of being the victim of phishing attacks. Strong policies and related technical controls, along with physical controls, help reduce insider threats.

As per this research, to implement and maintain cybersecurity, SMEs feel they have financial issues and a lack of resources, followed by other important business priorities as compared to cybersecurity implementation. During the research, it became more apparent that the top management of these organizations was not able to see a return on investment (RoI) for the implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity controls as per existing standards in alignment with their business goals. Further, Dr. Pawar has authored a chapter with the title "Importance of Least Cybersecurity Controls for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for Better Global Digitalised Economy" in the book titled "Smart Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Performance Management in a Global Digitalised Economy" by Emerald Publishing, United Kingdom. According to the World Trade Organization, small and medium companies account for more than 90% of all businesses, 60–70% of employment, and 55% of the GDP of developed nations (WTO, 2016).

The 400 million or more SMEs that make up the global economy constitute its foundation.

A global analysis conducted by Sage for SMBs in eight countries, including the United States, and published in October 2023 finds significant disparities in SMB adoption of cybersecurity. Globally, 48% of SMBs reported a cybersecurity incident in the previous year, while 26% of SMBs in the United States reported several cyber breaches. Cyber risks are cited as a serious worry by 75% of the United States SMBs, and 59% of them plan to boost their spending on cybersecurity in the upcoming year. Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks (21%), data loss (20%), ransomware attacks (16%), and credential theft (15%) are the top cyber breaches affecting United States SMBs. In the previous year, 48% of SMBs reported experiencing a cybersecurity incident. Although the majority of SMBs only bring up cybersecurity when something goes wrong or changes internally, 69% of SMBs claim that it is part of their culture. The largest issue, according to 51% of respondents, is staying on top of new risks. 19% of SMBs only use fundamental controls. Only 58% of SMBs regularly backup their data, making them completely unprepared for ransomware attacks or other online dangers. A process is in place at about 80% of SMBs to mitigate the cybersecurity threats posed by remote employees. Every firm should learn from this during the pandemic. Around 52% want additional assistance with cybersecurity training and instruction. The cost of living and economic instability, according to 44%, have lowered cybersecurity budgets. Cyber insurance is used by 64% of SMBs, and 74% plan to use it in 2019. The fact that SMB top management is now more cognizant of cyber threats and that 91% anticipate cybersecurity investments to increase or stay the same in the upcoming year is encouraging.

"Raising cyber threats to SMB or SME companies is not a regional challenge but a global issue where the economy, employment opportunities, and GDP of many nations will be in trouble if SMB or SME companies are not protected against cyber-attacks," says serial entrepreneur Dr. Shekhar Pawar, Founder and CEO, SecureClaw Inc. “I have invented a new cybersecurity framework as an outcome of my international research, which is popular under the name Business Domain Specific Least Cybersecurity Controls Implementation (BDSLCCI). It provides tailored cybersecurity controls with reduced cost and fewer resources to adopt preventive measures against ransomware and similar cyber threats”.

The inventor of BDSLCCI, Dr. Shekhar Pawar, found that businesses that undergo such cyberattacks face various problems, such as financial loss, data loss, the spread of malware, market reputation damage, production halts, and so many other legal and regulatory consequences. When it comes to SMBs or SMEs, most of the time these organizations do not have enough financial budget to implement generic cybersecurity standards available in the market, lagging cybersecurity knowledge among teammates, and not a visible “return on investment (RoI)” for the resources utilized in cybersecurity implementation and maintenance. Along with various cybersecurity services, the BDSLCCI framework is now able to resolve these problems for SMBs or SMEs by providing “tailored” cybersecurity controls based on the business domain of the organization, thereby “reducing the cost” of cybersecurity implementation by more than five times the cost of existing standards and providing many useful tools that are “free” to use. Also, as it is in alignment with the business goals of the SMB or SME, it helps top management see the RoI. BDSLCCI works on two cybersecurity aspects: defense in depth (DiD) and mission critical assets (MCA).

Along with various other cyber threats, BDSLCCI’s DiD controls are mapped to lower the risks of ransomware and various cyber-attacks. Various cybersecurity controls in layers contribute to the same. Apart from that, MCA is being protected more with additional controls. BDSLCCI has been able to protect SMBs or SMEs against ransomware and other cyber threats. Knowledge of BDSLCCI is also available as a book on Amazon, Kobo, and other platform.

Dr. Shekhar Pawar
SecureClaw Inc.
+1 218-718-2121
customercare@secureclaw.com
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