Small Businesses in Texas Can’t Afford to Ignore Cybersecurity Anymore

Across Texas, small businesses are the backbone of our economy, from family-owned restaurants and retailers in Houston to contractors, healthcare providers, and fast-growing startups across the region. They create jobs, fuel local growth, and help define the communities we live and work in.

Today, alongside familiar challenges like inflation, workforce pressures, and supply chain issues, small business owners are facing a risk that is often underestimated but increasingly disruptive: cybersecurity.

For many, cybersecurity still feels like something designed for large enterprises, complex, expensive, and disconnected from the realities of running a business day to day. That perception is understandable. For years, effective protection required dedicated hardware, specialized IT support, and constant management, resources that most small businesses simply do not have.

But the threat landscape has changed. Small businesses are no longer overlooked targets. In fact, they now account for 43% of all cyberattacks. Across networks like Comcast Business, billions of threats are detected each year, underscoring just how persistent this activity has become. For a small business, even a single breach can be devastating, often exceeding $500,000 in losses and, more critically, forcing operations to stop at the worst possible time.

In a state as economically dynamic as Texas, where so many communities rely on small businesses to stay open and serve customers, downtime is more than an inconvenience. It is a direct threat to business continuity, customer trust, and long-term success.

That is why a different approach is taking hold, one that meets small businesses where they are. Cybersecurity is no longer just a standalone product. It is becoming part of the foundation businesses already rely on: their network.

"Cybersecurity has traditionally been layered on top of everything else, adding cost and complexity for small businesses that are already stretched thin," said Eileen Diskin, Chief Marketing Officer, Comcast Business. "We are changing that by building security directly into the network where threats first appear. With SecurityEdge Preferred, small businesses get proactive, AI-powered cybersecurity that is enterprise-grade in capability and effortless in practice."

When protection is built directly into connectivity, threats can be stopped before they ever reach a device, without requiring additional infrastructure or technical expertise. That shift is redefining how small businesses think about staying secure.

"Security should not require an IT department to work," said Christian Nascimento, Senior Vice President, Connectivity and Digital Customer Solutions, Comcast Business. "SecurityEdge Preferred is part of our broader commitment to simplifying how small businesses access and manage critical technology, bringing connectivity and cybersecurity together in an integrated experience they can depend on. Our network is what makes this different. Security that is embedded in the infrastructure, rather than layered on top of it, means we can stop threats closer to where they originate, at a scale most small businesses could never achieve on their own. That is what we built this solution to do."

Solutions like Comcast Business SecurityEdge™ Preferred reflect this shift. Embedded into the internet connection itself, it activates quickly and runs continuously, helping to protect businesses behind the scenes without adding complexity.

"In Texas, small businesses power our neighborhoods and local economy. They should not have to navigate complicated cybersecurity solutions to stay protected," said Andrew Foxwell, Vice President, Comcast Business, Texas Region. "SecurityEdge Preferred makes it easier to stay secure so they can stay focused on their customers and their growth."

The conversation around cybersecurity is evolving. For small business owners, it is no longer about whether to invest in another technology tool. It is about staying open, staying connected, and ensuring that one unexpected disruption does not undo years of hard work.

In today’s environment, cybersecurity is not just an IT issue. It is a business continuity essential.

Disclaimer: Zach Lashway is a manager and copywriter for Comcast/NBCUniversal.