CNBC quarterly surveys of small business owners in recent years have indicated that many do not rate the risk of cyberattack highly, yet the FBI says that in recent years a wave of hacks has targeted small business. Small business owners say social media giants such as Meta have done little to help them address the problem. Malware can target victims through email phishing, browser extensions, ads and mobile apps and various social media platforms. According to SCORE, a nonprofit partly funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, nearly half of small business owners cited social media as their preferred digital marketing channel. And social media accounts of small businesses are like a gold mine," said Joseph Steinberg, a cyber security privacy and AI expert, who sees small business social media accounts as "low hanging fruit."

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Persons: it's, Pat Bennett, Pat's Granola, Bennett, hasn't, Pat Bennett Bennett's, Joseph Steinberg, Bryan Palma, Europol, Palma, Cai Dixon, Dixon Organizations: Facebook, Meta, CNBC, FBI, SCORE, U.S . Small Business Administration, YouTube Locations: Cleveland, Europe