Small business: security issues rise as automation gains.

The rate of information security exposure is growing at small businesses as they deploy increasingly sophisticated information technology (IT) infrastructure and automate more of their business processes, according to a report from The Small Business Technology Institute (SBTI), and Symantec Corp. The report concludes that small businesses must take immediate steps to protect themselves from the productivity and economic losses that occur when sensitive business data is compromised as a result of viruses, hackers, privacy threats or disasters.

The report, entitled Small Business Information Security Readiness, confirms that small businesses' information systems are increasingly vulnerable to attack, and urges the adoption of security technology, proactive policies and stronger vigilance to protect information assets and minimize business risk. The study involved 1,024 qualified survey respondents in the U.S. with one to 100 employees, including those operating as home-based businesses and in commercial locations.

"Small businesses represent an extremely high point of exposure for the U.S. economy, based on their significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and their insufficient information security readiness," said Andrea Peiro, CEO and practice director of Market Intelligence for SBTI, a non-profit that fosters technology education and adoption among small businesses.

"Small businesses are just as likely to experience information security threats and risks as large enterprises, so it's pertinent they have the right resources to protect their critical assets," said Enrique Salem, senior vice president, security products and solutions, at Symantec.

Among other findings, the report noted that accelerating adoption of networking and mobile computing infrastructures is driving greater security exposure for small businesses; this is coming from areas such as networking, mobile computing and Internet access, even among one-person, home-based businesses. Many small businesses lack sufficient security controls over even basic systems such as email (20 percent are not secured), the report noted, and wireless networks present a new area of concern, since 60 percent are not secured.

Moreover, the report concluded, three-fourths of small businesses perform no formal information security planning to counter these threats. They can significantly minimize risk by adopting more sophisticated security measures, it argues.

A complimentary copy of report is available at: www.sbtechnologyinstitute.org/mi/research.htm.