UK SMEs face a combined loss of up to £100,000 every year due to unbudgeted security fixes and malware recovery, according to new research from Samsung, yet the majority continue to work over unsecured public Wi‑Fi.

Polling 1,000 business owners, more than a fifth of SMEs (21%) admitted their current approach to security was reactive rather than proactive, with 67% having failed to implement any new cybersecurity measures in the last twelve months.

Added to that, despite over half of SME owners being more aware of cybersecurity following a wave of high-profile breaches, 69% have no allocated funds or insurance to cover an incident – meaning one in five small businesses would be forced to close their doors within three months in the event of an attack.

Worse, 45% provide no employee security training at all, meaning staff are ill‑equipped to recognise phishing or early malware indicators, even as owners report growing concerns surrounding threats like phishing and scam messages (88%), malware (84%), and unauthorised apps (53%).

Without even basic security awareness, modern working habits are leaving firms dangerously exposed, with 58% connecting to free public Wi‑Fi, and15% admitting they access sensitive work documents while connected to insecure networks.

That is especially concerning given nearly a third (32%) of SME employees work from coffee shops and almost a quarter (24%) work from public transport at least once a week, sites which have proven to be potential hotspots for cyber threats.

There is also the often overlooked physical security risks of these environments, so-called “shoulder surfing”, a problem laid bare with the 36% of SME workers who admit to reading sensitive emails or messages on someone else’s screen.

But while 43% of SME staff say they feel uncomfortable handling sensitive documents in public, a third (31%) still do not use a physical privacy screen to protect their data, even though three-quarters (74%) regularly use their mobile for work.  

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“Small and medium businesses are the backbone of our economy, yet they are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals because they often lack enterprise-grade protection,” said Annika Bizon, mobile experience VP of product, Samsung UK & Ireland.

With SMEs accounting for 99% of the country’s business community, the UK Government are keen to bolster cybersecurity for smaller firms to protect the wider economy. For instance, last month, the government launched a new campaign to encourage small firms to engage with the Cyber Essentials scheme, which provides practical steps to mitigate cyber risks. 

However, engagement remains a challenge. A government study last year warned that many of the country’s smaller businesses are not investing enough in their cyber insurance to keep up with the flood of new threats, with 35% having no insurance at all.