--- title: "The Terrible Price Small Businesses Pay for a Data Breach | DuoCircle" description: "By now you probably know what comes before a data breach: a phishing attack." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/phishing-protection/the-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach/" --- Quick Answer Small businesses pay disproportionately for breaches: 37% suffer financial loss, 25% file for bankruptcy, and 10% go out of business entirely, per the National Cyber Security Alliance. Large breaches at Equifax, Facebook, and Target draw fines but the companies survive; SMBs lack the cash reserves, customer base, and brand equity to absorb the cost. Phishing is the dominant attack vector that leads to most SMB breaches, since stolen credentials open the door to data theft, ransomware, and BEC. The SMB defense calculus is simple: link-time phishing protection, MFA on every account, SPF/DKIM/DMARC at p=reject on the sending domain, and offline backups for ransomware recovery cost a fraction of one breach event. The companies that go under after a breach almost universally skipped controls that would have cost a few dollars per user per month. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20Terrible%20Price%20Small%20Businesses%20Pay%20for%20a%20Data%20Breach&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F&title=The%20Terrible%20Price%20Small%20Businesses%20Pay%20for%20a%20Data%20Breach "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=The%20Terrible%20Price%20Small%20Businesses%20Pay%20for%20a%20Data%20Breach&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F "Share via Email") ![Data Breach](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-record-generator-6382.jpg) By now you probably know what comes before a data breach: a **phishing attack**. _Phishing is the attack vector the bad guys use most often to steal the credentials which lead to the data breach_. Did you ever ask yourself what comes after a data breach? Well, if you’re a small business, the answer is not good. From [Stay Safe Online](https://staysafeonline.org/small-business-target-survey-data/), “A new survey released by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) today found that an overwhelming majority of small businesses believe that they are a target of cybercriminals, highlighting the growing awareness among small businesses about the threat of a cyberattack.” [![cyberattack](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-permerror-6382.jpg)](/phishing-protection/the-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach/attachment/hacker-cyber-criminal-with-laptop-stealing-user-personal-data-hacker-attack-and-web-security-internet-phishing-concept-man-in-black-hood-with-laptop-trying-to-cyber-attack) What are the consequences of those cyberattacks and ultimately the data breaches? According to the survey, after a data breach, 37% of small and mid-size businesses (SMB) suffered a financial loss, **25% filed for bankruptcy** and **10% went out of business**. That’s bad. We hear all the time about the big data breaches like those at Equifax, Facebook and Target. And to be sure, those companies were all hit with a great big fine. But none of them went out of business or had to file for bankruptcy. While data breaches are more life threatening to SMBs, they unfortunately don’t take **cyber threats** as seriously as the bigger companies do. According to an article on [SC Magazine](https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/data-breach-causes-10-percent-of-small-businesses-to-shutter/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=SCUS%5FNewswire%5F20191030&hmSubId=01xQvtS0ero1&email%5Fhash=0da939dab246e8101d6090def505f6f5&mpweb=1325-10995-1896988), “_62 percent of the respondents saying cybersecurity is a high priority. But the level of concern dropped dramatically for very small businesses, with only 39 percent making cybersecurity a high priority_.” The ones most at risk are the ones worried the least about it. It’s a shame too, because the technology to **avoid data breaches** is readily available and completely affordable, even for the smallest of businesses. [![phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-record-8855.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2019/10/spf-record-8855.jpg) Phishing Protection from [DuoCircle](/email/phishing-protection) can help prevent data breaches at small companies by stopping the main attack threat: phishing. And it can do so for pennies a day per employee. And [Phishing Protection](/email/phishing-protection) is specifically designed for small businesses with little to no IT staff, because it requires no hardware, no software and no maintenance. Phishing Protection works with almost all email hosts including Microsoft Exchange, Office 365 and Google G Suite. _It sets up in 10 minutes, includes 24/7 live technical support and comes with a 30 day risk free trial_. Don’t go bankrupt. Don’t go out of business. Don’t get phished. Don’t suffer a data breach. DO try [Phishing Protection](/email/phishing-protection) from DuoCircle. ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) Share this article [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F) [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20Terrible%20Price%20Small%20Businesses%20Pay%20for%20a%20Data%20Breach&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.duocircle.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection%2Fthe-terrible-price-small-businesses-pay-for-a-data-breach%2F) Copy Related Articles - [ ![AI-Generated Phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2026/04/spf-record-4522.jpg) AI-Generated Phishing Has Eliminated the Typo: Why Traditional Email Filters Are No Longer Enough Phishing ](/blog/ai-generated-phishing-eliminates-typos-making-traditional-email-filters-ineffective/) - [ ![spf-permerror-4555](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2023/05/spf-permerror-4555.jpg) 10 Applications of ChatGPT that Hackers Are Already Exploiting Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/10-applications-of-chatgpt-that-hackers-are-already-exploiting/) - [ ![Email-Based Cyber-Attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2016/03/spf-record-tester-4455.jpg) 65% of Global Businesses Ill-Equipped to Defend Against Email-Based Cyber-Attacks Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/65-global-businesses-ill-equipped-defend-email-based-cyber-attacks/) - [ ![Email-based Ransomware Attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2018/02/email-smtp-service-7834.jpg) 7 Ways to Protect Your Organization from Email-based Ransomware Attacks Phishing ](/blog/phishing-protection/7-ways-protect-organization-email-based-ransomware-attacks/) ## Related Articles [ Phishing 11m AI-Generated Phishing Has Eliminated the Typo: Why Traditional Email Filters Are No Longer Enough Apr 28, 2026 ](/blog/ai-generated-phishing-eliminates-typos-making-traditional-email-filters-ineffective/)[ Phishing 5m 10 Applications of ChatGPT that Hackers Are Already Exploiting May 3, 2023 ](/blog/phishing-protection/10-applications-of-chatgpt-that-hackers-are-already-exploiting/)[ Phishing 4m 65% of Global Businesses Ill-Equipped to Defend Against Email-Based Cyber-Attacks Mar 29, 2016 ](/blog/phishing-protection/65-global-businesses-ill-equipped-defend-email-based-cyber-attacks/)[ Phishing 9m 7 Ways to Protect Your Organization from Email-based Ransomware Attacks Feb 11, 2018 ](/blog/phishing-protection/7-ways-protect-organization-email-based-ransomware-attacks/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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