We need to be careful. Statistics can go in one ear and out the other if they’re misused. Unfortunately, they often are, and not just by salespeople or marketers either; stats are overused by almost everyone at some point.

If you're guilty and you know it, raise your hand! (My hand is raised, btw!)

But who doesn’t want to give prospects the unbiased truth about cyber threats? It’s counterintuitive to hold back, especially when we know the data is in our favor! 

So then, how do we use these stats to our advantage? The answer is simple: make the numbers relevant to the person you're speaking to.

I'll say it another way. Don't copy and paste these statistics into your PowerPoints and emails, instead, use them to help buyers calculate the cost of a breach themselves.

It’s all about your buyer, the small business owner, and how the threats relate to their organization. Use these statistics to educate and you will be on the right path.

Cybersecurity Facts

1. 43 percent of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. (Small Business Trends)
2. 58 percent of SMBs have experienced a data breach in the last 12 months. (Techradar)
3. It takes most companies over six months (or about 197 days) to detect a data breach. (ZD Net)
4. 90% of hackers cover their tracks by using encryption. (Vanson Bourne)
5. Windows is the most targeted platform by hackers followed by Android. (Computer World)
6. 6 out of 10 SMBs have experienced attacks abusing Microsoft Office programs. (Barkly)
7. Two-thirds of SMBs report the cyber attacks they're seeing have become more sophisticated. (Barkly)

Most Common Risks

1. 45 percent of employees across organizations admit to engaging in unsafe behavior. (Dell)
2. Most employees think their company IT systems offer enough protection against attacks. (FN London)
3. 22 percent of employees at small to mid-size organizations have lost a company-issued work device (Dell)
4. Only 35 percent of employees at an SMB uses a password or PIN code to secure their device. (Ponemon Institute)
5. One in six businesses is unprepared for data breaches. (Techradar)
6. Cyber attacks against businesses rise 55 percent during the last three months. (Techradar)

Cost of the Attacks

1. Global spending on cybersecurity products and services are predicted to exceed $1 trillion (cumulatively) over five years, from 2017 to 2021. (Cybersecurity Ventures)
2. The total cost of a successful cyber attack is over $5 million, or $301 per employee. (Ponemon)
3. The most expensive component of a cyber attack is information loss, which represents 43 percent of costs. (Accenture)
4. Damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. (CyberSecurity Ventures)
5. Global ransomware damage costs are predicted to reach $20 billion by 2021, up from $325 million in 2015. (Cybersecurity Ventures)
6. Only 36% of SMBs expect their security budget to increase in 2019. (Barkly)

Types of Attacks

1. The FBI claims over 4,000 ransomware attacks on business networks and home computers are carried out every day. (Pocket-Lint)
2. 230,000 new malware samples are produced every day, and it’s expected to keep growing. (Panda Security)
3. Ransomware caused 39 percent of malware data breaches last year. (Pocket-Lint)
4. A business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 11 seconds by 2021. (Cybersecurity Ventures)
5. 56 percent of organizations identified targeted phishing attacks as their biggest current cybersecurity threat. (CyberArk)
6. 76% of businesses reported being a victim of a phishing attack in the last year. (Wombat Security)
7. Users in the U.S open 30 percent of phishing allx emails, with 12 percent of those targeted by these emails clicking on the infected links or attachments. (Verizon)
8. 58% of malware attack victims are categorized as small businesses. (Verizon)

How to Use these Cyber Security Statistics

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, we need to do three things in order to make our stories stick, and the one tip that works great with statistics is called “making the audience work.”

“...it does mean that you need to provide opportunities for your audience to think for themselves. Perhaps you can let them vote on alternatives. Ask the audience questions and get them to make bets about what they think is right before giving them an answer. At the end of the talk, repeat the main points, but encourage the audience to summarize it for themselves.”

For example, let’s say you were putting together a presentation and you came across this statistic:

“The total cost of a successful cyber attack is over $5 million, or $301 per employee.”

If we simply pasted it into an email or presentation, we’d be guilty. That’s misuse in todays terms. On the other hand, if we asked “What would the total cost of a successful cyber attack be on your business?”, and if we really put the prospect in the driver’s seat, we’d win because now the breach is playing out in their mind, we are “making the audience work” so that the statistic leaves a mark.