Recent research shows that Belgian SMEs have serious cybersecurity deficiencies. More than 43 percent received a grade of “D” or “F” on a scale assessing their digital security.

CyberContract examined the digital security of 309 Belgian SMEs. No company achieved the highest score (“A”) and only fifteen percent received a grade of “B”. Almost half of the companies are in the red zone with a low “D” or “F” score.

Digitally vulnerable

This value makes them extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks such as data theft and identity fraud. A primary cause of this is inadequate configuration of key security protocols such as email security (SPF, DMARC) and DNSSEC.

The survey found that 53 percent of companies have experienced data breaches and 51 percent are not implementing adequate SSL/TLS security. This significantly increases the risk of phishing attacks and misuse of sensitive data.

Education and prevention

CyberContract emphasizes that technological measures are only part of the solution. Raising awareness within the corporate culture is at least as important. Employees must actively support their organization’s cybersecurity. According to Stef Vermeulen, general manager at CyberContract, the root cause of many incidents is human error or outdated technology, such as weak passwords and the lack of multi-factor authentication.

In addition to preventive measures such as technical audits and training, CyberContract recommends that companies be prepared for incidents. SMBs often do not have their own incident response team, which makes high-quality cyber insurance necessary. This can help with both direct financial damage and recovery from a cyberattack.

CyberContract urges business leaders to make cybersecurity a priority. They warn that cybersecurity is no longer optional, but a critical requirement to ensure business continuity.