Why do I need Cyber Security?

Introduction

Cyber-attacks are a constant threat to businesses of all sizes. Hackers can steal your customer's data and use it for identity theft, cause brand damage that can't be repaired, or even disrupt your ability to operate effectively by taking down your website or business software. But what exactly is cyber security? What steps can you take today to protect against future attacks? In this article I'll explain why cyber security is important for small businesses and what you should do next if you're worried about becoming the victim of a breach.

Cyber security helps your business protect itself from data breaches.

The threat of data breaches is becoming more and more serious. According to the Ponemon Institute's “2019 Cost of a Data Breach: Global Analysis”, the average cost of a data breach in 2019 was $3.86 million (€3.34 million). This was an increase from $3.52 million (€2.99 million) in 2018 and up from $1 billion (€832,000) in 2005!

While cyber security can't guarantee that your business won't experience a data breach, it will help you mitigate your risk and reduce the cost of one if it happens by mitigating the impact on your business operations and reputation.

Cyber security is more important than ever as cyber attacks are on the rise.

I have a confession to make: I've never been the most tech-savvy person. In fact, I'm still learning how to use the latest software and platforms. But just because you're not a computer whiz doesn't mean you should ignore cyber security. It's more important than ever as cyber attacks are on the rise.

Cyber attacks are more sophisticated than they've ever been before and they're costing companies billions of dollars in damages. So why is it so important for us all to pay attention?

Data breaches can disrupt your business for days or months, depending on how you recover.

Data breaches can be costly and disruptive. Depending on the type of data that was exposed, it may take days or months to fully assess the impact on your business and how you respond. The business interruption costs from a breach can be significant, especially when you consider lost productivity, additional help desk support, credit monitoring services for affected customers and other expenses. If you have not yet experienced a data breach but have any information at all stored on your computer systems that could be accessed by an unauthorized person—such as names, addresses or social security numbers—you are at risk of experiencing one in the future.

Data breaches can also cause customer trust to be lost permanently if they feel their private information was not adequately protected by your organization. Customers may leave your business without notice, leading to decreased sales and revenues as well as increased costs associated with acquiring new customers later down the road (which requires marketing campaigns and advertisements). A company might even go out of business because they were unable to recover from losing so many customers due to a large data loss incident involving sensitive personal information such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers being stolen by hackers who then used these stolen credentials maliciously against retailers like yours across multiple industries nationwide

A cyber-attack can cause your customers to lose faith in you, so it's important to get ahead of potential problems before they happen.

If a data breach occurs, it can cause your customers to lose faith in you. They may decide not to do business with your company anymore because they don't trust that you'll protect their data. If this happens, it could be very costly for your company in the long run.

Once a breach happens, it can be hard, if not impossible, to regain all of your customer's trust.

Once a breach happens, it can be hard, if not impossible, to regain all of your customer's trust. Customers are more conscious than ever about how the companies they do business with treat the information they share with them.

Customers can lose faith in a company if they think it is not doing enough to protect their data or if they feel like the company is not being honest about what happened. If you don't want this to happen to you, make sure that your cyber security program is working for your customers as well as it does for you!

The financial damage alone can be devastating to small businesses who have suffered a data breach.

• The cost of downtime.
• The cost of lost customers, business and productivity.
• The cost of lost data and reputation.
• The loss of trust from customers and employees, as well as time and money spent in recovery efforts.

Hacked companies take an average of 31 days to identify and 69 days to contain a cyber attack according to IBM Security research.

IBM Security research has found that hacked companies take an average of 31 days to identify and 69 days to contain a cyber attack. This is why it's important for you not only to have good security practices but also to know how your business will be affected if the worst happens.

Without proper cyber security in place, hackers could get access to your customer data and use it for identity theft.

It's bad enough when hackers steal your customer data, but it can be even worse if that information is used for identity theft. In the past, we've seen hackers accessing a company's employee records and impersonating employees over email in order to gain access to sensitive information. This allows them to use what they know about you (like your passwords) in order to break into other accounts that you have. For example: If an attacker knows your wife's name is Jane and her birthday is April 1st, then they could send out emails pretending to be you trying to get users' PINs and passwords so they can log in as you on other sites where you have an account.

Cyber criminals don't only target big companies; they also target small businesses who may have fewer resources to keep their networks secure.

Small businesses are a target because they may have less security than larger companies. Small businesses may not have the money to invest in cyber security and they may not have the technical expertise to secure their networks. They also don't have the time to invest in cyber security, as most small business owners are busy running their company and serving customers.

Cyber criminals know this, which is why they target small businesses specifically. According to a survey of small business owners by Intel Security (now McAfee), 65 percent of those surveyed had experienced some sort of cyber attack on their company's data or systems and 40 percent had been attacked multiple times. The same survey found that 57 percent of respondents said they couldn't afford to implement any type of [cyber] protection service or product into their business model at this time.

Breaches can do permanent damage to your reputation, even if you've already taken steps to improve your security measures after an attack occurs.

But even after you've taken steps to improve your security measures and protect data, a breach can do permanent damage to your reputation.

• Data breaches are the number one reason for compliance failures and fines from government agencies like the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
• In addition to fines, there's a good chance that you'll have to report the incident publicly. If not in real time, then at least within 24 hours of learning about it. And if you don't report within this timeframe? You could be fined even more!
• So what can you do? The first step is knowing where all of your sensitive information is stored and how it's being used by employees. Once this is done, set up policies that outline how they should handle any data they come across during their day-to-day jobs—and make sure everyone knows about them!

Don't let hackers bring down your company, invest in cyber security today!

The threats of cyber attacks are growing every day—it's no longer a matter of "if," but rather "when" your company will be breached. Do you want to be the next headline?

To protect yourself and your business, you need to invest in a good cyber security solution. But it can be hard to know where to start when looking at all the options out there. That's why we put together this guide on how to choose the right one for your company!

Conclusion

Cyber security is an important part of the modern business landscape, and no one knows that more than small businesses. With so much sensitive data at stake, it's important to make sure your company has some kind of plan in place to protect itself from potential attacks. It doesn't matter if you're a startup or have been in business for years--your customers expect their information to be protected at all times (and rightfully so). If you want more information contact me at jesper.larsson@stefanini.com.