You’re responsible for IT security in your small- to medium-sized business (SMB). You’re not too concerned – you feel you have all your “initials” covered: managed detection and response (MDR) and identity and access management (IAM) systems are in place, with a managed service provider (MSP) assuring you that they have you covered. Besides, “bad actors” are only after the big companies, right.
Well, no. SMBs are now targeted almost four times more than large organizations. Organized crime is the major bad actor, attacking small and mid-sized businesses with a combination of hacking and malware.
Breaches like these are behind the push by regulatory agencies to issue new security guidelines and reporting requirements for SMBs. Local and regional banks face pressure to meet new federal standards; law firms must show proof, not just claim, that they’re secure; and small to medium retailers, manufacturers, and healthcare providers are all being placed under the security microscope.
Many states are also passing laws that protect SMBs for punitive damages after a cyber attack, but only if they meet certain standards. It’s all because a breach can have huge repercussions, particularly to smaller organizations. Here are just three recent examples from the news:
- – July 2025 – The Tea Dating Advice app – a discussion and messaging platform for women – what hacked, exposing more than 70,000 verification images such as driver’s licenses, and over 1.1 million private messages covering private and sensitive topics. Tea allegedly used improperly encrypted storage, and an FBI investigation is reportedly underway.
- – 2024 – National Public Data – an information aggregator for background checks – was breached. More than 2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and addresses, were put up for sale on the dark web. The company is facing multiple lawsuits.
- – 2024 – The City of Hamilton, Ontario, suffered a cyberattack in which hackers disabled 80 percent of the city’s network and demanded a ransom of $18.5 million Canadian dollars. The city refused to pay the ransom and has spent more than $18 million trying to restore its systems. Hamilton’s insurance company has denied the city’s claim to recoup its costs, stating that Hamilton had not fully implemented security measures.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of SMBs still think their existing “initials” and other tools will be enough, until they’re not.
The Guardian Difference
This is where Guardian comes in. We don’t replace your IT provider; we work alongside them to provide what they and the MDR can’t – A proactive cybersecurity posture that lets us see what the hacker sees before they get into your system.
We conduct continuous external vulnerability scanning of your entire attack surface. We monitor the dark web for exposed credentials and data leaks, before attackers can use them. We call our Security Operations Center the AttackSOC™ because it extends the standard SOC monitoring operations to simulate real-world attacks to test and expose weaknesses in your company’s defense. We also train your team, but not with those generic videos most people glaze over. Our training includes real phishing simulations and tracked engagement. That means when someone asks if your team is trained, you can prove it.
So, don’t miss a risk assessment, ignore an incident response plan, or lose visibility into external threats. We’ll show you where to start, and we’ll give you the security posture you need to continue growing your SMB with confidence.
Guardian’s ZoneDefense™ is our holistic offense and defense that takes the fight to the threat actor with two new phases: Prepare and Predict. Continuous security posture, compliance assessment and strategic foresight lay the groundwork for robust protection. This not only secures your operations but also fortifies your business against both non-compliance liability and emerging threats.