Modern businesses operating in a digital world are always at risk. Everything is connected via internet, which means hackers and nefarious elements are always looking for a loophole that would allow them to get into the system and steal ultra-sensitive data. As hackers, spammers, and cybercriminals grow in numbers, become more sophisticated, and threatening, and corporate networks grow more complex, the critical role of cyber security has assumed more importance than ever before. Organization, aware of the risks, are spending huge sum of money to hire reputable cyber security services providers to protect their assets, computers, smartphones, database, networks and other business-critical data from cyber criminals.
A report published by Cybercrime Magazine reveals that cybercrime will force organizations to lose a mammoth $10 trillion annually over the next few years with global cybercrime costs forecasted to grow at an annual average rate of 15% till 2025.
Growing importance of cybersecurity for business
There’s no telling the amount of damage that data falling into wrong hands can do for a business. From financial loss, to loss of investment, damage to reputation, goodwill, and loss of customers, everything can vanish in the blink of an eye.
As per HBR, malware attacks such as ransomware, spyware, viruses, and worms, are rising at a precipitous rate. In 2022 alone, the number of ransomware attacks saw a whopping jump of over 300% compared to the previous year.
Businesses now need to think one step ahead of the cybercriminals in order to protect themselves from growing cybercrimes such as cyberterrorism, malware attacks, trojans, botnets, and other forms of cyber threats.
In the following paragraphs we look at how businesses can maintain integrity, confidentiality, and security of their data in an increasingly interconnected world. We shall also how a quality provider of cyber security services can help organizations mitigate the risk of such security challenges and threats, and help protect systems, assets, and data of an organization.
Cost savings and value
According to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, the average cost of a single cyberattack on a small business exceeds $26,000. Given the fact, that less than 50% of small and medium businesses operate in profit in first few years, the loss of data, downtime, and failure can be an extremely steep price for organizations to pay.
With growing intensity and sophistication of cyberattacks, it’s imperative to weigh the loss caused by an external threat versus the money likely to be spent on taking preventative measures. By mitigating risks or eliminating risks, you put your business in a comfortable position when it comes to taking proper care of the needs of your customers.
Protects your business reputation
Modern businesses operating in a highly competitive business environment thrive on reputation and goodwill as much as on anything else. Data breaches can shoot that reputation to pieces in a jiffy. Trust is worth its weight in gold, and every business is trying its level best to win the trust and confidence of workers. A security breach could shake customers confidence, who are likely to be worried about your capability to keep their information safe.
It is therefore of paramount importance to build a secure system, and take all the necessary precautions to protect and defend internet-connected systems of an organization and its employees and assets. Investing in the right cyber security technology can keep both your system and reputation safe and help you keep the trust of your customers.
Better Website Security
A potential data breach such as large-scale cyberattacks conducted by a network of hijacked private computers can easily slow down or shut down your website server. Either your server will be down, which means your present or potential customers will not be able to access the website, or under certain circumstances, the website loading time will slow down. Needless to say, even a delay of few seconds can annoy your potential customers, and send them to your competitor’s website leading to huge losses.
As a business owner, you need to be aware that your website is your address in the online world, and an unexpected crash or downtime can severely damage your business and its reputation.
Assists in Remote Working
Remote working has become the norm rather than an exception. The pandemic forced almost all the employees to work from home, which though comfortable for your employees can compromise sensitive organizational data.
Your confidential data, analytics, and strategies are always at a risk of getting hacked. However, right cybersecurity solutions can stymie hackers and cybercriminals’ malicious intents.
Protection against external threats
The threat of cyber-attacks continues to grow at a rapid pace. To put it in perspective, businesses have to contend with millions of cyber threats every year, causing losses to business worth trillion of dollars.
Majority of cyber-attacks are perpetrated for financial gains, though it is not the sole reason for carrying out various scams and cyberattacks. Whether it’s cyber criminals, hacktivists, or industrial spies, one thing common to these villains is how nimble, sophisticated, and surreptitious their attacks are becoming.
Experts suggest that to effectively counter such threats, it is important to regularly-update software, which can help organizations quickly detect and urgently respond to the loopholes and entry points that are being exploited, or are vulnerable to external threats.
Conclusion
The sheer sophistication and growing number of cyber threats has made businesses sit up and take notice. Cyber security is getting the attention it deserves with businesses increasingly hiring well-established cyber security services provider to devise important strategies to protect their assets, and stay ahead of the competition.