CUPERTINO, Calif. -- A survey of U.S. small businesses conducted by Zogby International finds that while 8 out of 10 small businesses in the U.S. feel their firms are safe from cyber threats, 80 percent have no formal information technology security policies.

"Thats a major problem just waiting to be exploited," said Cheri McGuire, vice president-global government affairs and cyber security policy for Symantec.

"We recognize that most small business owners are focused on running their businesses, and have limited resources and IT staff dedicated to managing their cyber security needs," McGuire said.

"Unfortunately, cyber criminals are increasingly making small businesses their targets, knowing they are likely to have fewer safeguards in place to protect themselves."

The Zogby survey was conducted for Symantec, which produces Norton antivirus software, and the National Cyber Security Alliance.

"The (cyber) threats grow in number and complexity each day, but too many small business owners remain naively complacent," noted National Cyber Security Alliance Executive Director Michael Kaiser.

"The stakes are high for individual businesses and the nation as a whole: a single malware attack or data breach can be fatal to a small enterprise, but the collective vulnerability of all our businesses is a major economic security challenge."

The Zogby survey found that two-thirds of U.S. small businesses are dependent on the Internet for their day-to-day operations.

Overall, 57 percent of the small firms polled said that a loss of Internet access for 48 hours would be disruptive to their businesses and 38 percent said it would be "extremely disruptive."

And 76 percent say that most of their employees use the Internet daily.

Yet, 77 percent of those same small firms admit they do not have a formal written Internet security policy for employees, and of those, 49 percent report they do not even have an informal policy.

Also, a larger group of small business owners said they do not provide Internet safety training to their employees, as opposed to those that said they do -- to a tune of 45 versus 37 percent.

Furthermore, a majority of small businesses (56 percent) indicated they do not have Internet usage policies that clarify which websites and web services employees can use, with only 52 percent having a plan in place for keeping their businesses cyber-secure.

At the same time, small businesses may not understand how to respond to online threats or the danger they pose. For example, 40 percent of small businesses said that if their businesses suffered a data breach or loss of customer or employee information, credit card information or intellectual property, their business does not have a contingency plan in place outlining procedures for responding and reporting the problem.

On top of that, two-fifths (43 percent) also say they do not let their customers and partners/suppliers know what they do to protect their information.

"Thats worrisome," said Symantecs McGuire, because 40 percent of all targeted cyber attacks are directed at companies with fewer than 500 employees.

She noted that in 2010, the average annual cost of cyber attacks to small- and medium-sized business was $188,242. What's more, statistics show that roughly 60 percent of small businesses will close up within six months of a cyber attack.

"It's important for small businesses to educate their employees on the latest threats and what they can do to combat them," she said. "Education, combined with investment in reliable security solutions, provides small business owners with a well-rounded approach to protecting their businesses and managing cyber risk."