As SMBs carry out more business online the need to keep sensitive information becomes ever more critical, Symantec says in its 2011 Internet Security Threat Report. 

The report says Symantec detected more than 286m threats in 2010, a number set to rise through 2011.

Nowadays even novice hackers can infect company computers to steal bank account logins and details, thanks to easily available attack toolkits-- now with added Java exploits.

Social networks are also a threat, as cybercrimals use them to share malware by disguising malicious links with shortened URLs. 65% of malicious URLs on social networks are shortened URLs, Symantec says. 

Mobile devices are also at risk-- 2010 saw the appearance of the first Android trojan, while last month alone more than 50 malicious programs were found on the Android Market. Symantec reports a rise of 42% in 2010 in mobile device vulnerabilities. 

Therefore the lesson is quite clear-- SMBs need to evaluate their security policies and, in a way, think of the worst. 

Go 2011 Internet Security Threat Report Identifies Increased Risks for SMBs