Ten years ago, a malware attack may have been annoying for SMBs, but it likely would not have affected their customer service. Today’s attacks, however, are far more likely to hit SMBs’ bottom line. Why? Customers don’t care what the problem is; if the network is down they will go to a competitor rather than wait for the problem to be resolved. This is the hard reality that should be prompting SMBs to make network security a bigger priority.

That was the resounding sentiment in a recent virtual Symantec-hosted roundtable discussion of SMBs and cyber attacks. During the roundtable, three small businesses shared the challenges they face in defending against malware. I sat in on this discussion and heard firsthand just how common security incidents are for SMBs.

Symantec customers, including Richard Johnson from Seattle-based Coddington Construction...