Atlanta-based IT provider highlights threats facing Georgia businesses and offers free cybersecurity consultations through year’s end.
Georgians reported more than $534.6 million in cybercrime losses in 2025, an increase of 27% from the previous year, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The state ranked ninth nationally in reported losses, as phishing, email fraud and ransomware continued to threaten businesses across industries.
We could offer website scans or AI roadmapping, but we want to start with your priorities and where you think your biggest gaps are.”
— Steven Ryerse, co-founder, Eclipse Networks
The risk became especially apparent this month when Georgia Power began notifying approximately 300,000 customers that an unauthorized party had accessed personal information through its online customer portal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The exposed information included names, addresses, phone numbers and other account details that criminals could potentially use to impersonate trusted organizations.
“When people think about cyberattacks, they often picture hackers breaking into complicated computer systems,” said Steven Ryerse, co-founder of Atlanta-based managed IT and cybersecurity provider Eclipse Networks. “But sometimes all it takes is a convincing email, a stolen password or an employee who thinks they’re responding to someone they know.”
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National FBI data shows that ransomware attacks are affecting industries that many people don’t traditionally associate with cybersecurity threats. Legal services firms, contractors, engineering companies and consultants all reported incidents in 2025. Manufacturing, healthcare and government organizations also remained frequent targets.
Email continues to be one of the most common ways criminals reach their victims. Phishing was the most frequently reported cybercrime nationwide in 2025, while business email compromise, in which criminals impersonate trusted contacts to redirect payments, resulted in more than $3 billion in reported losses.
Artificial intelligence is making some of these attacks harder to recognize. Criminals can use AI-generated messages and impersonation tactics to make fraudulent requests appear legitimate, increasing the importance of employee awareness and payment verification procedures.
Despite these threats, many business leaders remain confident in their defenses. A 2026 survey from the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency found that 86% of small and midsize business leaders expressed at least moderate confidence in managing cybersecurity risks. Yet only about half required multifactor authentication across all key business accounts.
For business owners, these findings highlight several practical steps that can help reduce exposure, including requiring multifactor authentication, verifying changes to vendor payment instructions through a trusted phone number, reviewing employee account permissions and regularly testing data backups.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month, observed each October, encourages businesses and individuals to build safer online habits. The 2026 campaign theme, “Don’t Make It Easy for Them,” emphasizes everyday actions that can make cybercrime more difficult.
To mark the occasion, Eclipse Networks is offering free cybersecurity consultations to Georgia business owners through Dec. 31.
“We could offer website scans or AI roadmapping, but we want to start with your priorities and where you think your biggest gaps are,” Ryerse said. “Then our team can tell you how big those gaps actually are and, more importantly, how to start bridging them in your organization.”
Each consultation begins with a discussion of the business owner’s concerns, followed by a review of potential security weaknesses, including email protection, account access, backups and employee awareness. Business owners receive a prioritized summary of recommended next steps, explained in plain language.
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