SMBs stands for small and midsize businesses: organizations that operate with fewer staff, smaller security budgets, and less specialized expertise than large enterprises. In cybersecurity, that matters because attackers often target SMBs knowing that lean teams may not have 24/7 monitoring, dedicated threat hunters, or time to tune every alert.
For defenders, the SMB environment changes how security is built and run. Security controls must be practical, prioritized, and easy to operate, often combining endpoint protection, threat intelligence, and managed detection and response (MDR). In real attacks, SMBs may see phishing, credential theft, or ransomware attempts that move quickly through gaps in visibility or delayed response. Strong security for SMBs is less about collecting more data and more about turning alerts into fast, repeatable action.