Small enterprises represented 61% of companies affected by credit card hacking in 2013, according to British global payments company WorldPay.
Payment data breaches have cost WorldPay’s customers £870,000 ($1.47m) in the past three years and hit electrical, general and clothing retailers especially hard.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Dave Hobday, managing director at WorldPay, said that small firms still did not know how to protect themselves from a breach.
Companies that did not take the necessary steps to protect their customers’ data – known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards – could face serious costs, warned WorldPay.
"The cost of a card data breach can be hefty. Our small business customers could pay up to £4,100 just to investigate what happened," added Hobday.
According to WorldPay, simple verifications could be enough to protect small companies, such as changing passwords, keeping a clear list of suppliers and service providers, regularly testing the firewall and securely destroying all unneeded card data files.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThis warning follows a research by London-based accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the UK government’s Department of Business, which found that a cyber attack on a small company – with less that 50 staff – cost it between £65,000 and £115,000.
An attack on larger firms – with 250 or more employees – cost between £600,000 and £1.15m.
Related articles:
Levels of card fraud in UK stable while overall fraud soars – ONS
YESpay launches new card data security solution for UK’s retail environment
