Survey: Small business owners take action on cyber security

GLENVIEW - The majority of small business owners are concerned about breaches to their Internet and electronic security, according to the August 2015 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard optimism survey.

As cyber security hacks have become an increasingly prevalent issue, 60 percent of small business owners said they are concerned enough that they are taking extra precautions including firewalls, off-site protected servers, multi-factor authentication, encrypted emails and multiple layers of password protection.

An overwhelming majority of respondents to the SurePayroll survey (85 percent) said they would be willing to inconvenience customers if it meant better protecting the customers' online security when using the company's products, services or websites.

"It tells you just how serious this issue has become for business owners, regardless of size. It's not just the big chains that are focused on security right now. Small business owners understand that any sort of breach or lack of confidence when it comes to online security could have a big impact," said SurePayroll General Manager Andy Roe. "As a payroll provider, in particular, we understand the importance of taking security seriously in order to protect both customer and company data."

The number of small business owners concerned about cyber security increased from 56 percent a year ago to 60 percent today.