75% of Small Businesses Say They Couldn't Survive a Ransomware Attack. Here's the Math Behind That Number
Financial Impact Action Guide June 2026 · 7 min read Three in four small business owners say a ransomware attack would end their business. Not inconvenience it. End it. That's not a statistic about companies that got hacked — it's a statistic about companies that haven't been hacked yet. Including, very possibly, yours. Here's what the financial math actually looks like, and what prevention costs compared to what recovery costs. There's a statistic that circulates constantly in cybersecurity writing claiming that 60% of small businesses close within six months of a cyberattack. It's widely repeated, intuitively plausible, and — as the National Cyber Security Alliance confirmed in a 2022 public statement — unverifiable. They disavowed it. The original source doesn't exist. We're not going to use it. The verified numbers are more alarming anyway. 75% of small businesses ...