How a strong cybersecurity plan can grow your business

The pandemic accelerated digital transformation. We all know this from experience. In 10 weeks, it progressed 10 years, requiring global markets pivot to and invest in technology they had had planned for the far future.

With these changes came the massive shift to using video conferencing. Businesses started using it in ways they never had before – to stay in touch, make decisions and even onboard team members no one had even met in person. It offered flexibility and connection. The past two years have shown it is here to stay. Now, it represents opportunities for enormous growth, through evolving customer engagement, support, even interactivity – if businesses can get it right.

With such rapid changes come real security concerns. Covid did not reduce the importance of keeping our data secure – perhaps it even increased it; but the rapid acceleration towards remote and hybrid models of working pushed users to cloud-based platforms susceptible to cyber-attacks. It exposed billions of people to breaches with the potential to have devastating impacts.

Most organizations struggled at some point with their video strategy, having to make quick, on-the-spot decisions to ensure business continuity. 

At the same time, the majority of video conferencing tools use centralized data warehousing. Everything you do on these platforms goes to a centralized cloud environment. Now, in theory, that means it is easy for you to access from any device or return to later, but we know that any cloud service that is connected to the internet is also a potential target. Given this vulnerability, it’s time for enterprises to assess if they have the right processes, people, partners and tools in place.

Why do we need to be thinking about cybersecurity?

The risk of failing to account for cybersecurity is a direct threat to growth. It is no exaggeration to say the security of our systems and data is fundamental to our way of life. We rely on connectivity to run hospitals and airports, to access our money and even to operate our cars.

Cybersecurity breaches are up globally, and so consciousness around cybersecurity is also on the rise. Even before covid, the majority of business leaders felt their cybersecurity risks were increasing.

Data is a valuable commodity. Many media organisations are not in the business of letting you share cat photos with friends across the globe, but in buying and selling data. Some of that data we share willingly in exchange for a better experience, but not always.

No one is breaking down your door anymore to rob you. There is much greater success in threatening you digitally.

In the first half of 2020 – a long time ago in pandemic time – data breaches exposed 36 billion records in the US. Of particular concern during a pandemic, some figures show more than 90% of healthcare organisations have experienced at least one security breach in the past 3 years.

Plus, personal data is involved in more than half of all breaches. That might mean your credit card information or passwords, or it could be anything from where your children go to school, to your social security number or home address.

There is an explicit economic cost when businesses fail to properly secure data. The average cost to a business of a data breach is US$3.86 million and cybercrime as a whole is expected to cost the global economy $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Getting ahead on cybersecurity can be an opportunity for growth… 

In 2022, we continue to see a shift to hybrid workplaces. Perhaps some of your staff are in the office at different times, or you have benefited from employing the best people from other parts of the world. Using video conferencing has likely become integrated into the way you do business.

Before, the pandemic, 14% of businesses embraced video conferencing. Now, more than 70% are using it.

Once again, with the convenience comes certain challenges. The risk you face if your service is compromised is significant. A whole portion of your workforce could be cut off, or sensitive client data suddenly shared freely. Without widespread or standardised policy for video conferencing, businesses must rely on the products themselves to offer appropriate security. They need to work with a trusted vendor.

At Pexip, we planned ahead for many years before these type of vulnerabilities became a critical concern. We started with a very conscious decision from day one: to give our customers the opportunity to control their level of exposure. If they wanted to host their own server, in their own data centre or even their own room, they would be able to.

Our vision was always that the world would eventually function this way, using video conferencing to bring connection, information and assistance to people, wherever they were. And we were conscious of the security measures needed to handle that, which is why we started to put them in place from the beginning.

No other video communications business does what we do to protect customer data privacy. Pexip is the only platform that can be hosted by the customer and bypass the open internet. Without a connection to the internet, data is protected from interception or breaches.

Now, as we face a third year of working in this geographically diverse way, we can embrace what the technology offers. Not just the capability to have meetings with other people in your organization, but the potential to connect in meaningful ways you might otherwise not be able to. To use digital tools that only exist in these online spaces, or to deliver value to someone who would not usually be able to access it.

If you haven’t factored cybersecurity into your strategic planning, this might sound intimidating, even high-risk. But with the right tools and policies in place, video becomes a feature, not a stop-gap. It is a chance for you to expand your offering, build the best team and delight your customers in brand new ways.

The choice to use video is no longer reactive. The decision about which platform to use can’t be reactive, either.