SMB cyber-readiness: What makes or breaks it

The report summarizes ESET and Verizon research showing that many SMBs remain underprepared despite frequent incidents: 45% reported at least one incident in the past year, yet confidence in resilience often increases after breaches. Root causes remain mundane — phishing (26%), unpatched vulnerabilities (23%), monitoring gaps (22%), and weak passwords (20%) — while ransomware and third-party risks persist; the piece urges shrinking attack surface, preparing playbooks, preserving evidence during the 'golden hour', and following frameworks (NIST SP 800-61, ISO/IEC 27035-1, NCSC CAF) to improve cyber resilience.