Imagine that you live in a neighborhood that has several mansions, surrounded by a large number of more modest homes. Suppose that in the past, burglars concentrated their efforts on breaking into those large houses and stealing everything of value. Knowing this, you didn’t bother to lock your door most of the time. Why would you worry about someone stealing your small television, when they could go after priceless jewelry and art?

Now, imagine that the burglars are changing tactics to target the smaller homes like yours. Instead of robbing fewer houses to gain a lot of goods, they watch to see who in the smaller houses is leaving the doors unlocked. They might not gain as much from one robbery, but they would target more houses and gain access more easily.  Small businesses owners may have felt and acted the same way as the modest homeowners in our analogy, thinking cybercriminals would focus on the Fortune 500 and simply leave them alone.