VikingCloud

38% of restaurant chains say reliance on third-party vendors increases their cyber risk.

44% of restaurant leaders say employees prioritize speed over security protocols.

40% of quick service and fast casual restaurant chains had payment card data leaked in the past 12 months.

Cyberattacks rank as the number one business concern for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

53% of cyber leaders report burnout related to cybersecurity responsibilities.

32% of SMBs have security awareness training.

82% of North American hotels were hit with a successful cyberattack during summer 2024.

32% of hotel IT and security leaders say a significant increase in credit card transactions will increase their cybersecurity risk during the busy travel season.

72% of hotels are investing in next-gen antivirus, anti-malware, and anti-spam.

65% of SMBs report cybersecurity as the #1 business function that could be managed more effectively with artificial intelligence (AI).

14% of SMBs experienced ransomware attacks in the past 12 months.

Cybersecurity (48%) has emerged as the second highest business concern for SMBs.

10% of restaurant chains have temporarily or permanently closed a location following a cyberattack.

54% of restaurants have between 26 and 99 connected IoT devices per location.

28% of restaurant leaders delay security patches frequently to avoid disrupting service.

40% of restaurants use AI-powered drive-thru or voice ordering.

80% of leaders at quick service and fast casual restaurant chains experienced at least one cyber incident in the past 12 months.

32% of quick service and fast casual restaurant chains had customer personal information leaked in the past 12 months.

30% of quick service and fast casual restaurant chains had internal system credentials leaked in the past 12 months.

More than one-third of leaders at quick service and fast casual restaurant chains initially mistake a real cyberattack for a routine technical glitch.

18% of restaurants have experienced brand damage from AI drive-thru technology hallucinations.

80% of restaurants experienced a social engineering attack in the past year.

36% of restaurants experienced fraudulent refund requests as a form of social engineering in the past year.

36% of restaurant leaders feel not at all or only somewhat prepared for a socially engineered deepfake video or voice attack.

30% of restaurant chains plan to bring in an external cybersecurity partner in the next 12 months.

36% of restaurant chains have 24x7 monitoring, standardized controls, and tested response plans at all locations.

68% of restaurant leaders lose more than $1,000 per hour when point-of-sale or ordering systems fail during a peak meal rush.

62% of restaurant chains work with six or more third-party vendors per location.

28% of restaurant chains had third-party platform data exposed in the past year.

76% of quick service and fast casual restaurant chains had sensitive data leaked in the past 12 months.

28% of restaurant chains lack real-time, centralized visibility into their security posture.

30% of restaurants experienced AI-generated voice or video impersonating executives to authorize fraudulent payments in the past year.

94% of leaders at quick service and fast casual restaurant chains describe themselves as confident or very confident in their ability to prevent or detect a cyberattack.

36% of restaurants experienced phishing targeting staff credentials as a form of social engineering in the past year.

30% of quick service and fast casual restaurant chains had employee payroll records leaked in the past 12 months.

78% of restaurant leaders delay security patches to avoid disrupting service.

38% of restaurant chains report inconsistent security practices across locations with varying IT maturity.

34% of restaurant leaders say a loss under $50,000 would significantly impact their business.

35% of SMB respondents say AI is creating adaptive and evasive malware.

84% of business owners still self-manage their cybersecurity programs.

54% of cyber leaders at SMBs still self-manage their cybersecurity programs.

24% of SMB respondents say AI is lowering the barrier to entry for novice criminals.

27% of SMBs experienced customer data breaches in the past 12 months.

SMBs plan to use AI in 2026 for threat detection (39%), incident response (34%), fraud detection (34%), and automated phishing detection (31%).

56% of cyber leaders at SMBs report increased anxiety due to cybersecurity responsibilities.

50% of SMBs say they would lose customers after a successful breach.

58% of SMBs experienced website downtime in the past 12 months.

55% of SMBs experienced third-party or vendor outages in the past 12 months.

32% of SMBs perform penetration testing.

28% of SMB respondents say AI is creating hyper-personalized social engineering attacks.