--- title: Data Breaches Force 10% of Small Company Victims Out of Business description: Cyberattacks are among the most dangerous threats for small businesses, with 25% of affected organizations filing for bankruptcy and 10% going out of business entirely, according to a new survey. image: https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/cyber-security-1776319_1280.png --- [![](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/09/logo-white.svg)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/?hsLang=en-us) [![CONTACT AN EXPERT](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/341979/1d8885e9-1179-49b1-a5ec-9c75f5f670dd.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/341979/1d8885e9-1179-49b1-a5ec-9c75f5f670dd) - [For Home](https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/) - [For Business](https://www.bitdefender.com/business/) - [Resources](https://www.bitdefender.com/business/resource-library.html) - [Webinars](https://www.bitdefender.com/business/webinars.html) # [BUSINESS INSIGHTS](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/?hsLang=en-us) By [**Silviu Stahie**](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/author/silviu-stahie) / Oct 28, 2019 # Data Breaches Force 10% of Small Company Victims Out of Business Share this [![Share on email](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/email-color.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) [![Share on twitter](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/twitter-color.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=) [![Share on linkedin](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/linkedin-color.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [![Share on facebook](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/facebook-color.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/data-breaches-force-10-of-small-company-victims-out-of-business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook) Cyberattacks are among the most dangerous threats for small businesses, with 25% of affected organizations filing for bankruptcy and 10% going out of business entirely, according to a new survey. The Zogby Analytics survey, commissioned by the National Cyber Security Alliance, also concluded that 88% of small companies believe they are a likely target for attacks and only 46% feel ready to face one. More than 1,000 cybersecurity decision-makers from small businesses responded to the survey. “Consistent with that, almost two-thirds (62%) report that cyber security is a high priority for their business,” [says](https://staysafeonline.org/small-business-target-survey-data/) the survey. “Concern about cyber security is especially strong among larger companies – cyber security is a high priority for 72% of businesses with 251-500 employees and for 39% of businesses with 1-10 employees.” 28% of respondents said their businesses suffered a data breach in the past 12 months. The numbers also show that the larger the company, the more likely a data breach is. 11% of affected companies had 1-10 employees, and organizations with 251-500 employees accounted for 44% of the incidents. The study also concludes that the vast majority of companies are well aware of the threat posed by cybercriminals. More than 50% of the organizations reported they have a plan in place in case of a data breach. A recent IMB study [calculated](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/lost-business-remains-top-contributor-to-data-breach-costs-for-a-fifth-straight-year?hsLang=en-us) the average cost of a data breach at $3.92 million, explaining why some smaller companies would have to declare bankruptcy or go out of business. ### Explore More Topics - [Enterprise Security (743)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/enterprise-security) - [Threat Research (201)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/threat-research) - [Cloud Security (174)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/cloud-security) - [SMB Security (170)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/smb-security) - [Ransomware (166)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/ransomware) - [Privacy and Data Protection (137)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/privacy-and-data-protection) - [Cybersecurity Awareness (134)](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/topic/cybersecurity-awareness) - 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