Cyber attacks are becoming more and more of an issue for businesses around the world, but not just for large companies and corporations either.

According to their Facebook page, South Hill Fine Foods recently was hit by a system hack which has caused the store to shut their doors until Thursday, January 30.

Greg Marcyniuk from Heritage Insurance in Moose Jaw, says smaller sized companies are now being targeted.

"They [hackers] are turning to small business owners and we're seeing a really large array of small businesses being attacked like a bookstore, bakery, florist, whatever. These cybercriminals are funded by criminal organized crime, they are the ones who are really going after it. We're finding more and more attacks happening with these smaller businesses."

Not only are cyber-attacks incredibly inconvenient and potentially dangerous for customer's information, but Marcyniuk says they can be very costly for a business to deal with as well.

"When a cyber attack is actually taken on by a medium or small business, the average cost is almost $200,000 to recover it. In fact nearly 60% of the small businesses who are victimized by a cyberattack permanently close their doors within 6 months."

Marcyniuk provided some tips that you or your business can follow to try and prevent an attack.

  • Install and regularly update your antivirus/antispyware software on every computer.
  • Use a firewall for your internet connection
  • Make backup copies of important business data and information on the cloud.
  • Control physical access to your computers and network components
  • Make sure your wifi network is secure and hidden
  • Require individual user accounts for each employee
  • Limit employee access to your data information
  • Limit authority to install software
  • Regularly change your passwords, and use multiple passwords.