Key Takeaways
- • 71% of small business owners had never heard of the PHP flaws that disrupted websites last month, according to a new Network Solutions report.
- • 69% took no real action after the flaws were reported, and 55% were unclear which security updates their service plan covered.
- • Only 10% of respondents said their website was affected by the PHP vulnerabilities, and half of those had not finished the fix.
- • Small businesses, numbering 36 million in the United States and generating 43% of GDP, have overtaken larger corporations as the most targeted enterprises by cybercriminals.
Summary
Websites around the world were disrupted last month after researchers discovered critical flaws in PHP, the programming language that powers much of the internet. The global security alert also revealed that many small business owners are unaware of the measures needed to protect their websites and, by extension, their livelihoods.
A new report from Network Solutions, the web services platform and self-described original web registrar, quantifies that gap. Network Solutions CEO Sachin Puri said the company sought to learn what small businesses knew about the PHP flaws, who they believed kept their sites patched, and what they did in response. According to Puri, most never received the warning, most did not check their sites, and many were not sure whose responsibility patching was. He warned that new security flaws will continue to emerge.
The report underscores the economic stakes. Small businesses account for 99.9% of businesses in the United States and roughly 43% of GDP, and they have now overtaken larger corporations as the most frequently targeted enterprises by cybercriminals, so attacks on them carry broad economic disruption.
The article recommends four basic steps: determine whether hosting is managed or self-managed and what that means for updates; review the service plan to see which security updates it covers and which remain the owner's responsibility; designate a single point person, whether owner, developer or host, to own patching; and ask the provider to confirm in writing that the site is protected whenever a vulnerability is publicized.
The piece was drafted by the Hedge Fund Alpha team in collaboration with Network Solutions and offers an interview or byline with Puri. It is primarily a commercially supported feature rather than independent market reporting.
A new report from Network Solutions, the web services platform and self-described original web registrar, quantifies that gap. Network Solutions CEO Sachin Puri said the company sought to learn what small businesses knew about the PHP flaws, who they believed kept their sites patched, and what they did in response. According to Puri, most never received the warning, most did not check their sites, and many were not sure whose responsibility patching was. He warned that new security flaws will continue to emerge.
The report underscores the economic stakes. Small businesses account for 99.9% of businesses in the United States and roughly 43% of GDP, and they have now overtaken larger corporations as the most frequently targeted enterprises by cybercriminals, so attacks on them carry broad economic disruption.
The article recommends four basic steps: determine whether hosting is managed or self-managed and what that means for updates; review the service plan to see which security updates it covers and which remain the owner's responsibility; designate a single point person, whether owner, developer or host, to own patching; and ask the provider to confirm in writing that the site is protected whenever a vulnerability is publicized.
The piece was drafted by the Hedge Fund Alpha team in collaboration with Network Solutions and offers an interview or byline with Puri. It is primarily a commercially supported feature rather than independent market reporting.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.