Rising levels of cybercrime, and its increasing sophistication, threaten businesses of all sizes but SMEs are particularly vulnerable, says John Mc Loughlin, CEO of J2.
“SMEs operate on tight budgets (both in terms of money and time), must manage cash flows carefully and keep overheads down. Hiring a specialised security professional is simply not an option for them – even if they could find one, given the extreme skills shortage in this area,” he says. “At the same time, modern SMEs are hugely dependent on the Internet, which gives them the opportunity to compete effectively, but of course this reliance puts them directly in the sights of cybercriminals.”
While cybercrime statistics for SMEs in South Africa are non-existent, PwC’s 2018 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey found that respondents expect cybercrime to be the most disruptive to their organisations over the next two years.
“We launched the J2 SME Secure offering because it was so apparent that SMEs are simply not being served by traditional managed cyber-security providers, and it’s now too risky to rely solely on the basic security provided by an Internet service provider or IT provider,”
Mc Loughlin says. “SMEs need the same levels of security as big corporates because they are being targeted by the same syndicates.”
To plug the gap, J2 offers a fully managed cybersecurity service for businesses of any size. J2 SME Secure offers end-point protection and Internet security to protect from online threats and illicit material. The company also provides professional remote installation support as required to protect client employees, no matter how they access the Internet.
J2 SME Secure also includes protection against financial loss through cybercrime up to the value of R100 000. This offering includes third-party breaches, phishing, online banking fraud and refund scams – all of which are on the rise.
The offering also covers the provision of acceptable use and cybersecurity policies to help drive security-conscious behaviour across the company.
J2 SME Secure also allows clients to buy a range of optional value-adds covering secure online backup with ransomware protection and simple data recovery in the event of a disaster, secure hosted mailboxes and advanced security options to protect against evolving threats, and managed encryption to ensure compliance with data regulations.
For more information, contact J2 Software, 086 100 5896, john@j2.co.za, www.j2.co.za
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