Small and medium enterprises remain the heartbeat of South Africa’s economy, celebrated for their agility, innovation and job creation. As a company, SevenC recently responded to an insightful Sunday Times article on the importance of the ecosystem supporting this sector, noting that SMEs face heightened challenges to withstanding cyberthreats.

Sustainability and business continuity in the sector demands managed detection and response (MDR).

MDR and why it matters to SMEs?

MDR is a 24/7, human-led cybersecurity service that actively hunts, detects and neutralises threats across a business’s entire IT environment – including endpoints, servers, cloud, e-mail and backups. It’s not just reactive: MDR stops threats before they gain a foothold. Sophos MDR, for example, pairs AI-driven detection with over 500 expert analysts stationed at seven global security operations centres, with an industry-leading response time of 38 minutes. That’s 96% faster than the industry average.

For SMEs, this translates into real-world resilience. Attacks are blocked earlier, recovery costs are lower and downtime is minimised.

According to a recent Sophos report, the average cost of recovering from a ransomware attack in South Africa is US$1.04-million – and 44% of backup attacks succeed. That’s your last line of defence compromised.

How backups are compromised during ransomware attacks

There are two key reasons this happens. Firstly, backups aren’t isolated but rather sit on the same network as primary data; and there are poor access controls where attackers are able to gain admin credentials and disable or encrypt backup jobs before launching the ransomware.

In many of the incidents we’ve helped clients respond to, backups were either mapped network drives or unsecured NAS devices. Once inside, attackers move laterally and hit backups first, making recovery impossible without paying ransom.

The core issue? Not technical but strategic

To help businesses simplify cyberrisk and compliance, we’re hosting the second instalment in our “IT Tools for Business Leaders” series, bringing SME sector IT experts from SevenC, ASG Computing and Sophos together. We will break down how to achieve proactive threat detection, fast response and ongoing compliance, with live case studies and tools you can apply immediately.

Join our next online webcast, “Compliance simplified. Cybersecurity assured. With Sophos MDR”. Pre-register now, and we’ll send you the replay from part 1 (featuring Veeam and Data Resilience insights).

Too often, SMEs treat cybersecurity as a checkbox exercise, installing antivirus but skipping threat detection, or assigning security to overstretched IT generalists.

Let’s be clear: it’s smaller companies that are most vulnerable. They’re often less prepared, making them easier targets.

Just this year, a mid-sized Gauteng firm was paralysed by ransomware. Though they had nightly backups, shared admin credentials gave attackers access to everything — backups included. The company was offline for over two weeks, with more than R2.5-million in losses.

Compliance is another critical pressure point.

We all know about Popia, which mandates safeguards for personal data and its recoverability. But new regulations, like the Joint Standard on Cybersecurity and ICT Risk Management (effective 1 June 2025), now demand formal cyber-resilience plans, incident response protocols and board-level IT risk oversight – aligning with King IV governance principles.

How MDR helps with compliance and business continuity

MDR adds structure and visibility. Analysts monitor activity in real time, investigate anomalies and take action – often before an incident unfolds. It supports compliance by showing due diligence, formalising response processes and providing traceable incident records.

Critically, MDR platforms like Sophos integrate with existing systems – from Microsoft 365 to backup solutions like Veeam.

What makes Sophos MDR different

Sophos MDR combines human expertise with AI and telemetry from your full security estate; detects the 65% of ransomware attacks that start with credential abuse or unknown vulnerabilities; achieves rapid response through dedicated security operations centre analysts; and works with your existing tools, maximising return on investment.

The role of backups

Backups remain essential, but only if they’re resilient. That’s where Veeam’s Data Resiliency Maturity Model (DRMM) comes in. Developed in partnership with McKinsey and cybersecurity experts, the model gives businesses a road map for aligning people, processes and technology around resilience. As Veeam’s Ian Engelbrecht says: “The DRMM empowers leaders to assess and improve their data resilience by aligning strategy with real risk exposure.”

MDR and Veeam complement each other perfectly. Sophos alerts teams when backup files are tampered with. Veeam ensures recovery is possible and fast. Together, they provide layered protection — without overwhelming stretched IT teams.

Final thought – the cost of doing nothing

MDR, backups and compliance are not optional in today’s business environment, which is squarely located in the digital arena. Cyberthreats, hardware failure, power outages and human error are not theoretical – they’re inevitable.

As the only Sophos Platinum MDR Partner in South Africa, we’re proud to offer local expertise backed by global capabilities. Let’s plan like our businesses depend on it … because they do.

About SevenC
SevenC was founded in 1998 with a passion for open-source technology and a drive to solve real business challenges through smart, secure IT. Today we are a managed IT services partner offering full IT support, consulting and virtual CIO services. In a country that remains a prime target for cyberattacks, we understand the pressure businesses face. That’s why we don’t just fix problems – we detect them before they impact your operations, clients and employees. Our solutions are shaped by local experience, backed by global standard and tailored for your unique environment. With our team of skilled engineers, award-winning tech partnerships and years of hands-on experience, we’re proud to be the IT partner businesses rely on. Local IT is lekker. With SevenC, local is also fast, secure and built to last. Learn more at sevenc.co.za.