By Rob Brenner During Small Business Month 2026 alone, Comcast Business detected and blocked 230 cyber threats targeting small businesses per second. That finding carries added weight across the Eastside. Businesses in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Renton, and nearby communities operate in one of the Pacific Northwest’s most connected economies. Local companies serve technology, aerospace, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and professional-services customers. Those relationships can bring cybersecurity expectations through contracts, vendor reviews, cyber-insurance requirements, and customer data safeguards. Washington law also establishes duties involving personal information, qualifying data breaches, and certain consumer health data. For Eastside businesses, cybersecurity supports compliance, customer trust, contract readiness, and daily operations. A breach at one company can also affect vendors, customers, and regional partners. Most small business owners approach cybersecurity much like locking their doors at night. They install security tools, keep them updated, and return their attention to daily operations. The growing volume of attacks now requires broader, ongoing attention. The just-released Comcast Business 2026 Cybersecurity Threat Report shows that risk has spread beyond familiar entry points. The devices slipping under the radar Attackers increasingly bypass digital break-ins. They log in using stolen credentials or route activity through everyday devices that businesses rarely identify as cyber risks. The attack surface has also grown. Security cameras outside storefronts, back-office routers, customer TVs, and point-of-sale (POS) devices can be taken over without an owner’s knowledge. Businesses have traditionally monitored these devices less closely than laptops or phones. Criminals now use them to disguise traffic, enter trusted networks, and launch large-scale attacks. That exposure matters across the Eastside’s connected economy. One compromised device can reach beyond a storefront and affect vendors, customers, or larger organizations in a business network. The most common ways attackers get in Businesses of all sizes face similar threats, but small businesses often lack the dedicated IT teams and infrastructure that larger businesses have. That can make breaches easier and allow attacks to remain unnoticed. Protection starts by better understanding the most common ways cybercriminals get in, no matter the business size. Comcast Business’s report analyzed 79.3 billion cybersecurity events, finding that phishing (fake emails, texts, or messaging pretending to be someone trustworthy) and drive-by compromise (simply visiting a compromised or malicious site that installs malware without clicking) are top of the list for most common attacks, with 25.4 billion and 21.9 billion attempts detected, respectively. These attacks aim to exploit user behavior, steal credentials, and compromise devices. And they’re doing it faster. AI has unlocked a faster route for attackers to find and exploit weaknesses before they can be patched. The report also found 5.8 million attempts to gain control of employee browsers. Browsers used each day by a Bellevue clinic receptionist, a Redmond retailer, or a Kirkland professional-services firm are now targets. A compromised browser can expose the wider business and connected partners. What small businesses can and need to do Small businesses don’t need the expansive resources that larger businesses often have to protect themselves. A few practical steps can make a noticeable difference: • Map every connected device: Cameras, routers, thermostats, streaming devices, and POS systems are all now part of the attack surface. Add these device types to the security checklist and check them twice. • Require multi-factor authentication and password updates: Every device and account needs this level of attention. Practice this more frequently to reduce the chance that one stolen credential turns into a full network compromise. • Train employees to spot phishing: Deceptive emails are the most common way attackers get in the door. Build an ongoing training program to educate employees on how to recognize and report phishing attempts, turning them into a front line of defense. • Limit access on a need-to-know basis: If every employee has full access to all business systems and data, the radius of the attack surface grows. Limit employees and devices to the access they need to do their jobs. • Build protection into your network:Don’t wait until a breach occurs to tackle security needs. When choosing a network or internet solution, make sure it canmonitor and catch threats in real time. AI advances and overlooked connected devices are giving cybercriminals faster routes into small businesses. Eastside companies also operate across connected business networks where one incident can affect contracts and daily operations. Cybersecurity Awareness Month gives local owners a timely reason to review their practices. Year-round protection can support compliance, customer trust, contract readiness, and business continuity across the 425. Rob Brenner is vice president of Comcast Business in the Pacific Northwest.
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