A break in continuity can cost $10,000/hour minimum. Even the smallest businesses rely heavily on technology, data, and connectivity. As a result, IT disruptions are more costly than ever.

One in two businesses have experienced an extended break in continuity. Unexpected disruptions are extremely common. In a survey highlighted by DataCore, 54% of businesses had experienced downtime that lasted at least eight hours.

Nine in 10 companies permanently close if they are slow to reopen following a disaster. Data from FEMA shows 90% of businesses fail within the first year if they are unable to get back up and running within five days after a disaster. The longer recovery takes, the more likely a business is to permanently shut the doors.

Attacks do not target only large corporations - 28% affect small businesses. Many of them aim to intentionally disrupt SMBs, which tend to have weaker cybersecurity. In 2020, 28% of breaches affected small businesses, according to data from Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report. Most breaches were linked to attacks on web applications (roughly 43%). Also, not surprisingly, 83% of these attacks were financially motivated. (Source: Verizon)

A 2020 survey found 51% of companies across the globe don't have a business continuity plan. This type of plan is a proven method for businesses to recover from disaster by outlining the critical steps and systems needed to maintain continuity. (Source: Mercer via Economic Times)

External threat actors make up 83% of threats. Statistics for 2023 found 83% of attacks were perpetrated by external actors while 17% were internal personnel or third parties with authorized access.

A recent survey found that approximately 33% of all folders used by a company are not protected. Sometimes, all it takes is one compromised folder—or even a single file—to cause a break in continuity and the latest business continuity statistics suggest businesses are not being careful enough with their file restrictions. The survey found nearly two-thirds of companies have more than 1,000 sensitive files open to every user on the network. Folder access should be configured on an “as needed” basis. Not everyone in an organization needs the same access and permissions. Being too liberal with access control significantly increases the risk that a user will accidentally (or maliciously) create, edit, update or delete business-critical data. (Source: Varonis).

Phishing emails were the biggest concern in 2023 with 37% of IT managers reporting phishing emails to be the biggest threat to business continuity, according to Datto's 2023 cybersecurity report. Collectively, it was the top concern among the nearly 3,000 IT managers surveyed, followed by malicious websites/ads (27%), weak passwords/access management (24%) and poor user practices (24%).

74% of data breaches involve the human element. A 2023 analysis of 5,199 data breaches revealed that nearly 3 in 4 breaches involved the human element, such as social engineering attacks or human error. This is yet another business continuity statistic that explains why IT managers are so concerned about the threat of phishing emails and other user deception. (Source: Verizon)