Large companies make headlines when they’re hacked. Small businesses often assume, “We’re too small to be a target.” That’s a mistake. Enterprise breaches hold valuable lessons for SMBs.
Examples:
-
Target’s breach (2013): Started through a small HVAC vendor — showing attackers exploit the weakest link in the supply chain.
-
MGM Resorts (2023): Social engineering exploited help desk staff, proving that training is as important as tech.
-
Colonial Pipeline (2021): A single compromised password caused massive disruption, underscoring the need for MFA.
The takeaways for SMBs:
-
Vendors matter: Your IT security must extend to partners.
-
People are targets: Train staff on phishing and social engineering.
-
Basics still win: MFA, patching, and backups prevent most incidents.
Enterprises recover because they have resources. SMBs often don’t. Which means prevention is even more critical at the smaller scale.
