2026 SonicWall Cyber Protect Report
From Threat Tracking to Real ProtectionSonicWall's annual research has evolved. Rather than cataloging threats, the 2026 Cyber Protect Report measures real protection outcomes — revealing the seven operational failures most likely to leave SMBs exposed today.
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By the Numbers: 2025 Threat Landscape
The data behind the 2026 Cyber Protect Report reveals an attack environment growing in volume, speed, and impact — especially for SMBs.
13.15B
High/Medium Severity Hits
A 20.8% surge — driven by automated bots running 36,000+ vulnerability scans every second.
88%
SMB Breaches Involved Ransomware
More than double the 39% rate seen at large enterprises in 2025.
181
Days Average Breach Dwell Time
While 80% of IT leaders claim they can contain an incident within 8 hours.
$4.91M
Average SMB Breach Cost
Yet organizations with an incident response plan save $1.23M per breach.
About the Report
A New Era of Cybersecurity Research
What's Inside:
- Why SonicWall reframed its annual research around protection outcomes
- The Seven Deadly Sins of SMB cybersecurity
- 2025 threat data: high/medium severity attacks, ransomware, IoT, and more
- Why ransomware hits SMBs at more than 2× the rate of large enterprises
- The hidden cost of alert fatigue and legacy access models
- Actionable steps for MSPs and MSSPs to improve protection outcomes
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The Seven Deadly Sins of SMB Cybersecurity
The report identifies seven common — and preventable — failures that leave SMBs exposed. Not sophisticated attackers. Operational gaps.
Download the ReportIgnoring the Fundamentals
Skipping MFA, delaying patches on internet-facing systems, and failing to audit admin privileges remain the most exploited entry points.
False Confidence
44% of alerts go uninvestigated. Believing existing tools are sufficient without validating coverage leads to critical blind spots.
Overexposed Access
Excessive user permissions and unrestricted admin access accelerate lateral movement — which can begin within 48 minutes of initial compromise.
Reactive Security Posture
Without an incident response plan, organizations spend more and recover slower. Testing backups and tabletop exercises dramatically reduce impact.
Cost-Driven Security Decisions
Choosing the cheapest option over the right option creates gaps. Identity, cloud, and credential threats account for 85% of actionable security alerts.
Reliance on Legacy Access Models
VPN CVEs grew 82.5% — 60% rated high or critical. Over 48% of breaches in 2025 involved compromised VPN credentials.
Chasing Hype Over Execution
The average enterprise runs 45 security tools — spending half their time managing them instead of defending. Consolidation and execution beat complexity every time.