Cybercriminals aren’t just targeting the Fortune 500. In fact, they’re counting on small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to have weaker defenses—and it’s working. During the recent “Think Like an Attacker, Defend Like a Pro” webinar, cybersecurity experts Billy Turner from Secur-Serv, and Jim Peterson, and Matt Kholos from ConnectWise delivered a blunt message to SMB leaders: you’re a target, whether you like it or not. But there’s good news—modern tools, innovative strategy, and layered defenses can put you a step ahead. Here’s what you need to know.
Hackers Don’t Care About Company Size. They Care About Weakness.
The old image of a lone hacker in a hoodie is outdated. Today’s cyberattacks are run like businesses, with HR departments, quotas, and bonus structures. Their “revenue” comes from ransomware, stolen data, and exploiting companies that haven’t kept up with modern defenses.
Matt Kholos shared a jaw-dropping stat: over 560,000 new malware pieces are created daily. That’s the scale of what SMBs are up against.
The Threat Is Also Coming from Inside the House
While 65% of breaches are from external attackers, 32% start internally—from employees who are either negligent, complacent or, in rare cases, malicious.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as an HR lead stepping away from an unlocked workstation. Sometimes, a salesperson takes client data on their way out the door. The result is the same: lost data, broken trust, and considerable cleanup costs.
The solution? Security awareness training, smart user permissions, and endpoint monitoring are essential to your security strategy.
Layered Security: No Silver Bullet, Just Smart Defense
As Billy Turner put it, “There’s no magic bullet. It’s about layering your defenses like bulletproof glass.”
That includes:
- Security Awareness Training – to turn employees into your first line of defense
- EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response) – for real-time threat monitoring
- Advanced Email Security – including AI-powered tools to stop phishing
- SIEM & SOC – systems that detect threats across your entire network and respond instantly
Each layer reduces your risk—and increases your ability to detect, respond, and recover.
From Months to Minutes: Why SIEM and SOC Matter
Without visibility into your systems, threats can dwell undetected for an average of 200 days. A properly implemented SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system dramatically reduces that. It collects and analyzes logs from across your environment—servers, apps, devices—and alerts your security team to suspicious behavior, like a user logging in from two countries at once. Paired with a SOC (Security Operations Center), your business gets 24/7 eyes on alerts and the ability to take swift action. That response time can distinguish between an attempted breach and a costly disaster.
Real Stories, Real Consequences
One SMB thought it was doing “just enough” in cybersecurity. It had basic antivirus and backups but no real multi-factor authentication (MFA), no endpoint detection, and no centralized visibility across its environment. When attackers compromised the CFO’s email account, they used it to send fraudulent messages to customers about a “new bank account.” Nearly $400,000 in receivables disappeared.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. The company delayed implementing key security upgrades—passing on EDR, SIEM, and access to a 24/7 SOC. Two weeks later, the attackers came back with ransomware. The price tag to recover? Another $300,000. This kind of one-two punch isn’t uncommon. Once you’ve been breached—especially if you’ve paid up—you become a high-value target. As Billy Turner emphasized in the webinar, “If you’ve been breached once—especially if you pay—you’re likely to be attacked again.”
Government Agency with a Hidden Breach
Another case involved a government agency that contacted the team because its internet was “slow.” What they didn’t know was that their systems were under active, widespread compromise—data was being exfiltrated at high volumes to a foreign country.
After investigation, it was clear that their environment was fully compromised. Not just a handful of machines—every system, every backup, and even the hypervisors managing their virtual servers had been infected. They had no meaningful endpoint protection, SIEM, or real-time monitoring. The solution? A complete remediation effort, plus immediate deployment of MDR (Managed Detection and Response), SIEM, and SOC services to stop the bleeding and start fresh. The cost? Substantial.
But it was either invest heavily now—or risk complete operational collapse. The reputational and operational fallout could’ve been catastrophic for a public agency. These aren’t edge cases or worst-case hypotheticals. They’re real businesses and organizations that made the common SMB mistake of assuming they weren’t big enough to be targeted. The truth? Cybercriminals don’t discriminate. They look for weaknesses. And if you haven’t invested in layered, modern cybersecurity, they’ll find yours.
Can SMBs Afford Cybersecurity?
It’s a fair question. And the answer is: you can’t afford not to. But that doesn’t mean you need an enterprise-sized budget. As Billy emphasized, “We work with SMBs every day. We layer security at a pace that fits your business—planning it out quarter by quarter if needed.” Start with an assessment. Know where you’re vulnerable. Then, build your defenses, layer by layer.
Ready to Think Like an Attacker—and Defend Like a Pro?
Your business, data, and reputation are all on the line. The threat is real, but so is your ability to stay ahead. Let’s discuss how to build the right cybersecurity strategy for your business. Request time with our security team to get started.
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