Exploration of the Impact of Cybersecurity Awareness on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Wales Using Intelligent Software to Combat Cybercrime

Intelligent software packages have become fast-growing in popularity for large businesses in both developed and developing countries, due to their higher availability in detecting and preventing cybercrime. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are showing prominent gaps in this adoption due to their level of awareness and knowledge towards cyber security and the security mindset. This is due to their priority of running their businesses over requiring using the right technology in protecting their data. This study explored how SMEs in Wales are handling cybercrime and managing their daily online activities the best they can, in keeping their data safe in tackling cyber threats. The sample collected consisted of 122 Welsh SME respondents in a collection of data through a survey questionnaire. The results and findings showed that there were large gaps in the awareness and knowledge of using intelligent software, in particular the uses of machine learning integration within their technology to track and combat complex cybercrime that perhaps would have been missed by standard cyber security software packages. The study’s findings showed that only 30% of the sampled SMEs understood the terminology of cyber security. The awareness of machine learning and its algorithms was also questioned in the implementation of their cyber security software packages. The study further highlighted that Welsh SMEs were unaware of what this software could do to protect their data. The findings in this paper also showed that various elements such as education and the size of SME made an impact on their choices for the right software packages being implemented, compared to elements such as age, gender, role and being a decision maker, having no impact on these choices. The study finally shares the investigations of various SME strategies to help understand the risks, and to be able to plan for future contingencies and preparation in keeping data safe and secure for the future.