--- title: "Phishing Protection for SMBs: The Good News and Bad News | Phish Protection" description: "If you run a small or midsize business (SMB) and you" image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/phishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news.png" canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/phishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news/" --- Quick Answer If you run a small or midsize business (SMB) and you're concerned with phishing protection , there was a lot to read in the news last week. Let's get the bad news out of the way. According to an article on Security Week website, Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia introduced a new bill, the Security Breach. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Phishing%20Protection%20for%20SMBs%3A%20The%20Good%20News%20and%20Bad%20News&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news%2F&title=Phishing%20Protection%20for%20SMBs%3A%20The%20Good%20News%20and%20Bad%20News "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Phishing%20Protection%20for%20SMBs%3A%20The%20Good%20News%20and%20Bad%20News&body=Check out this article: https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fphishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news%2F "Share via Email") ![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/04/what-is-phishing-8524.jpg) If you run a small or midsize business (SMB) and you’re concerned with[phishing protection](/), there was a lot to read in the news last week. Let’s get the bad news out of the way. According to an article on[Security Week](https://www.securityweek.com/dc-attorney-general-introduces-new-data-security-bill)website, Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia introduced a new bill, the[Security Breach Protection Amendment Act of 2019](https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2019-03/Security-Breach-Protection-Amendment-Act-of-2019.pdf). The bill expands the types of information companies are held accountable for. ![What is phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/04/what-is-phishing-8524.jpg) The article states that, “Current legislation covers social security numbers, payment cards, and driver’s license numbers, and the new bill would also add passport numbers, military IDs, biometric data, health information, taxpayer identification numbers, health insurance info, and genetic information and DNA profiles to that list. The bill also requires companies that own, maintain, license or handle personal information to implement security measures to prevent unauthorized access and data misuse. _Companies that expose social security numbers will be required to provide affected customers free **identity theft protection** services for a period of two years_.” Almost every SMB maintains personal information - all it takes is a single employee or contractor. What this bill means is it’s now the law that you must implement security measures to protect your employees’ personal information. And the penalty for not doing so can cost a lot more than the protection itself. You can protect up to 100 of your employees with[advanced phishing protection](/products/advanced-threat-defense/)for less than _50 bucks a month_. I doubt you can provide identity theft protection for 100 employees for that. Now for the good news. It looks like SMBs are getting the message. According to[an article on Help Net Security website](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2019/03/28/smb-security-investments/), SMBs are willing to spend what it takes to protect their business. The article points out that “79% of SMBs are planning to invest more in **cyber security** in the next 12 months.” ![Phishing definition](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/04/phishing-definition-5482.jpg) What’s even more encouraging, is that the SMBs are willing to forego penny-pinching when it comes to protection. “SMBs are willing to pay 24 percent more on average for the right cybersecurity offering. Nearly half of all SMBs surveyed in the US (47 percent) would pay at least 20 percent more for the right cybersecurity solution.” “_SMBs are not just looking for\*\* cybersecurity protections\*\*, they are ready to invest more to protect their businesses_,” said Brian Downey, Senior Director, Security Product Management at Continuum. If you run an SMB and you haven’t yet taken advantage of[low-cost, cloud-based phishing protection technology](/pricing/), it’s time to start protecting your employees. After all, it’s the law. ## Topics [ Phishing Awareness ](/tags/phishing-awareness/) ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg) [ Brad Slavin ](/authors/brad-slavin/) General Manager Founder and General Manager of DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across DuoCircle's 2,000+ customer base. [LinkedIn Profile →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin) ## Protect your inbox from phishing attacks Real-time email security with 60-day free trial. No credit card required. [Start Free Trial](https://portal.duocircle.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=101&brand=phishprotection) [View Pricing](/pricing/) ## Related Articles [ Foundational 5m 0ktapus, Okta Breach Helps Attackers Launch Sophisticated Supply Chain Attacks Sep 5, 2022 ](/blog/0ktapus-okta-breach-helps-attackers-launch-sophisticated-supply-chain-attacks/)[ Foundational 14m 12 Real-World Spear Phishing Examples And The Red Flags You Missed Feb 4, 2026 ](/blog/12-real-world-spear-phishing-examples-and-the-red-flags-you-missed/)[ Foundational 2m 8 million Android users fell prey to SpyLoan malware on Google Play Store Dec 5, 2024 ](/blog/8-million-android-users-fell-prey-to-spyloan-malware-on-google-play-store/)[ Foundational 1m A Big Part of the Phishing Problem is You Sep 17, 2019 ](/blog/a-big-part-of-the-phishing-problem-is-you/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"Phishing Protection for SMBs: The Good News and Bad News","description":"If you run a small or midsize business (SMB) and you're concerned with , there was a lot to read in the news last week. Let's get the bad news out of the way.","url":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/phishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news/","datePublished":"2019-04-02T07:22:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T15:43:10.000Z","dateCreated":"2019-04-02T07:22:56.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin is the founder and General Manager of DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. He founded DuoCircle in 2014 and has led the company's growth to 2,000+ customers across its email security product family. Brad's focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/phishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news/"},"articleSection":"foundational","keywords":"Phishing Awareness","wordCount":449,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2019/04/what-is-phishing-8524.jpg","caption":"Phish Protection blog post image","width":1200,"height":630},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://phishprotection.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Foundational","item":"https://phishprotection.com/foundational/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Phishing Protection for SMBs: The Good News and Bad News","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/phishing-protection-smbs-good-news-bad-news/"}]} ```