How Much Should SMBs In Connecticut Budget For Cybersecurity In 2026?

Are you in the midst of planning your organization’s budget for next year? If so, you may be wondering just how much you should earmark for cybersecurity in 2026. The answer for most small and medium-sized businesses could largely depend on your risk tolerance.

How comfortable are you with leaving your business—including your network, systems, applications, data, devices, and other IT resources—vulnerable to potential cyber threats in the absence of strong cybersecurity measures?

In this article, we’ll explore the cost of cybersecurity readiness for SMBs. We’ll also examine why some of the traditional forms of cybersecurity that worked in the past may not be enough given today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Finally, we’ll provide some specific cybersecurity controls that you can implement to strengthen your organization’s overall security defenses and minimize risks.

What Are Factors That Influence Cybersecurity Costs For Small-Medium Businesses?

Building a strong cybersecurity armor is no longer optional for businesses in the face of rising cyber threats. Still, this raises the question of just how much of your budget should you set aside for cybersecurity?

The cost of safeguarding your data, devices, and systems will largely depend on the size and complexity of your business, the type of data you handle, and what type of security safeguards you have already implemented.

Factors that can impact your IT spend include:

1.IT Infrastructure

The complexity of your IT infrastructure can be an important factor in the cost of cybersecurity. For example, is your data stored locally using on premises servers, or do you use cloud servers, or a combination of the two?

Learn More: Should you use in-house or cloud-based servers?

2. Risk Tolerance

How willing are you to gamble your company’s future by not implementing strong security controls? The less willing you are to risk a major cyber incident—such as a ransomware attack, malware attack, or data breach—the more likely you are to allocate the necessary resources to enhance your cybersecurity.

3. Business Size & Complexity

Your organization’s size and complexity can also affect the cost of cybersecurity. If you’re a company with multiple physical sites, complex IT networks, and a large number of users and devices, you will need to spend more to ensure the ongoing health and safety of your valuable IT assets.

4. Outdated Technology

If your business still uses legacy IT hardware and software, then you could unknowingly be inviting trouble. That’s because outdated laptops, desktops, network equipment, and software that has reached their end-of-life dates present a security gap for malicious actors to exploit.

Such security flaws could allow them a backdoor way inside your network, where they can snoop around your databases, emails, business records, and other proprietary business information.

This could lead to your data being stolen or compromised, as well as a larger attack impacting your customers, vendors, suppliers, and other related entities.

5. Regulatory & Industry Compliance

Depending on your industry and the type of data you handle, you could be required to implement specific security controls to safeguard the information you store, process, or transmit.

For instance, HIPAA requires organizations within the healthcare industry to protect the Protected Health Information (PHI) of patients. In addition, the regulatory requirements extend to its subcontractors, vendors, consultants, and other connected third parties.

Likewise, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 regulation requires certain cybersecurity and audit mandates for organizations with Department of Defense (DoD) contracts that handle federal contract information (FCI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI).

6. Lack of Internal IT Resources

Small and mid-sized enterprises may also be hampered by too few or no in-house IT and cybersecurity experts to ensure the right hardware, software, applications, systems, policies, procedures, and other security measures are implemented following best practices.

According to one study, 83 percent of executives concede that workforce limitations are a major barrier to maintaining a strong security defense.

Learn more: What factors should you consider when determining if managed IT is right for your business?

What Can Not Strengthening Cybersecurity Cost Small-Medium Businesses?

Although the financial cost of cybersecurity can vary widely, perhaps a better way to look at it is to evaluate how much it will cost your business if you fail to boost your cybersecurity and you’re hit with a cyber incident.

The blow can not only leave many businesses reeling, but it could also leave them in existential peril. Some studies suggest that as much as 60 percent of small businesses go under following a cyberattack.

According to published reports, SMBs are three times more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than larger companies.

Part of the reason for this is precisely because of their small size and limited resources.

Threat actors recognize that SMBs have valuable information. They’re also prime targets because attackers also know that many small businesses have failed to implement strong security guardrails to keep them out.

Do SMBs Need A Cybersecurity Budget?

There’s no denying that cybercrimes are on the rise. A 2025 Cybercrime study by Accenture provided some alarming findings, including:

• of the 43 percent of small businesses that were targeted in a cyber incident, only 14 percent of them were prepared to handle those attacks.
• SMBs spent an average of between $826 and $653,587 on cybersecurity incidents
• cybercrime costs are projected to reach $10.5 trillion this year

As you can see, SMBs can’t afford to not reserve a portion of their budgets for cybersecurity.

While different factors will ultimately determine how much cybersecurity will cost your company, there are general guidelines to follow.

Experts typically advise businesses to set aside between a minimum of five and 10 percent of their budgets for cybersecurity, with some SMBs budgeting as much as 20 percent for cybersecurity.

With threat actors using increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered tools to help them infiltrate networks and launch targeted cyberattacks, it’s more important than ever for SMBs to stay vigilant.

According to its State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2025, ConnectWise found that many organizations underestimated the pervasiveness of cyber threats, with 58 percent saying they spent more on cybersecurity in 2024 than they had originally planned.

A recent spate of high-profile cyber incidents attracted international attention. For instance, the massive Change Healthcare cyberattack that rocked the healthcare industry in 2024 stemmed from an employee’s credentials being compromised through a phishing email.

That attack led to debilitating disruptions for related healthcare organizations and caused a staggering $2.9 billion in estimated recovery and direct losses. Although Change Healthcare paid a $22 million ransom, it’s stolen data was not recovered.

In another example, the ongoing Scattered Spider extortion attacks have hit major players across diverse industries. In these attacks, the cyber gangs have been able to target the helpdesks at different companies using phishing scams to trick helpdesk staff into resetting the login credentials of company employees to gain access.

Managed IT: A Proactive Approach To Cybersecurity

A lack of strong cybersecurity defenses is like an open invitation for cybercriminals. Rather than extend a welcome mat into your systems, it’s imperative that you act now to protect your business.

After reading this article, you now understand the importance of taking the steps now to strengthen your security posture rather than wait for a possible cybersecurity disaster to happen.

A major advantage of partnering with a managed IT service provider (MSP) rather than try to go it alone is that with managed IT, you won’t have to worry about the substantial expense of hiring an in-house team of engineers and cybersecurity experts to get the tools, systems, and other controls needed to keep your business and sensitive information safe.

Also, an MSP can deliver a host of strong cybersecurity protections combined with ongoing technical support to make sure your network maintains optimal performance, in line with your budget and business goals.

At Kelser, we have helped many customers over the years develop and put in place policies, procedures, and security solutions tailored to their needs.

Do you know what your organization’s security posture is? Do you need help strengthening your cybersecurity? Unsure where to start?

Click the button below to get your free, no-obligation cybersecurity consult — and gain expert clarity on how to protect your systems, data, and reputation.