86pc of respondents experienced at least one cyber incident within the last year: survey

ISLAMABAD: A survey conducted by a global cybersecurity company revealed that 86 percent of respondents experienced at least one cyber incident in the last year. Presenting the findings from its new global survey of small and medium size businesses (SMBs) on Thursday, Kaspersky highlighted an overwhelming 86 percent of respondents globally stated that the top threats cited as the most damaging were phishing attacks, software and web application exploits, mass malware, ransom ware, external remote access and attacks targeting AI vulnerabilities. Financial loss emerged as one of the leading consequences of the most harmful incident, cited by 22 percent of respondents. Other major impacts affecting companies included theft of customer data, temporary disruption to client-facing services like websites and online stores, loss of control over IT infrastructure, and general business process disruption. Respondents indicated that, beyond the immediate financial impact, attackers focused heavily on data theft. The most frequently targeted information included clients’ data (32 percent), sensitive internal information such as financial credentials, legal documents, etc. (28 percent), employees’ credentials (25 percent), and the organization’s business strategy (23percent). This pattern reflects a strategic shift toward extracting valuable data that can be monetized or leveraged for further attacks. The data shows that cybercriminals concentrate their efforts on IT and IT security teams, with 50percent of the most harmful attacks directed at IT and 46percent at IT security departments. Accounting and finance departments were the third most targeted area (24percent). On average, three departments were compromised simultaneously during the most severe incidents. Notably, SMBs experience a higher incidence of attacks through customer service channels (21percent) compared with mid market (15percent) and large enterprises (17percent). According to cyber governance expert Asad Ur Rehman, Cybersecurity is no longer an issue limited to large enterprises. Small and medium-sized businesses in Pakistan are increasingly exposed because they often handle valuable customer and financial data while operating with limited security resources or Pakistani SMBs, investing in cybersecurity should be viewed not simply as an IT expense, but as a critical business-resilience measure that can protect customer trust, operational continuity and long-term growth. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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