The staff gap increases the risk of cyber attacks. The department of digitization gives the lifebuoy
A deficiency of people translates directly into money. This year's IBM report “Cost of a Data Breach” calculates that organizations with staff shortages pay for an average of $ 1.76 million. more. This strikes especially small and medium -sized enterprises, which still function on small margins.
– For small and medium -sized companies, direct financial losses resulting from an effective cyber attack may be devastating. However, the consequences go far beyond them. Often, the loss of reputation and trust of clients and business partners is equally severe and also translating in long -term finances. When the data leaks and the systems stop working, rebuilding a tarnished image is a long and extremely difficult process – says Kamil Sadkowski, an analyst of the ESET antivirus laboratory.
This is not the end of the problems. Along with the transposition of the NIS2 directive, regulators' tolerance decreases. The new regulations extend the catalog of entities covered by duties, and penalties for lack of compliance reach EUR 10 million or 2 percent. global turnover – depending on which amount is higher.
– This is the last bell to treat the investment in cyber security as a condition for further functioning on the market – warns Paweł Jurek, Business Development Director at Dagma Safety IT.
Experts emphasize that Even small companies can enter the path of greater immunity without corporate budgets. Phishing and social engineering, regular audits and basic hygiene remain the foundation – from data encryption, through backups, to strong password policies. It is also easier to order monitoring or response to specialized service providers, and elements of the Zero Trust model – multi -component authentication, the principle of the smallest permissions or network segmentation – are also available today to SMEs.
The government will try to help. Up to 60 thousand euro for development
However, the government notices that the appeals themselves for good practices of the personnel gap cannot be overwhelmed. Therefore, August 1 The Ministry of Digitization has launched recruitment for grants from the “Digital Europe” program, intended for micro, small and medium -sized companiesthat work in cyber security.
It is to be distributed EUR 1.8 million, and a single company can receive from 30 to 60 thousand. euro. – Our goal is to create conditions in which Polish companies from the cyber security sector can effectively compete in European markets. Thanks to the grants, SMEs gain not only funds for development, but also an impulse to build a strong position in a dynamically growing sector – emphasizes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitization Krzysztof Gawkowski.
The program is part of the National Coordination Center project – Poland and finances development or creation of products, certification, as well as participation in trade fairs and missions. – Thanks to these funds, SMEs can not only realize their ambitious plans, but also play an active role in the European digital space. We support innovations that strengthen the safety of all new technologies – said Deputy Minister of Digitization Paweł Olszewski
The industry agrees that Public help is an important market stimulation, but it is not enough. Without systematically raising competences in organizations and implementing basic procedures, no grant will protect companies from increasingly automated attacks. The staff gap persists and the regulatory pressure is growing. For this reason, SMEs are facing a clear choice today: invest in safety and talent or risk punishment, downtime and lost contracts.
