5 Reasons Why Businesses Should Invest In Cyber Security In 2019

It is the 21st century, and life without internet is unimaginable. Social media has infiltrated all our households, and almost every second person has a cellphone. This virtual life has become as important as, if not more than real life. Needless to say, businessmen and businesswomen have capitalized on this raging internet obsession to not just advertise but also to scale their businesses.

The amount of exposure and outreach that the internet offers is unparalleled. Moreover, wireless technology and advanced data warehousing techniques have made it easier to conduct businesses online. People sitting in different parts of the world can now exchange information and collaborate together to achieve their business goals.

Companies can have branches all across a country and still manage to have a centralized cloud system accessible to all the employees through a private network. Thus, the internet has changed everything for the better, and as for the commercial benefits it provides, well, the list is endless. Opportunities for IT support too are at an all-time high so as to cater to the ever-growing demands of online businesses. 

However, as quick, efficient, and easy running a business online is, one must not forget that there are certain perils involved too. As cloud networks become the preferred option for data storage and more and more companies start storing humongous amounts of sensitive data online, there lurks the constant danger of a cyber attack.

You may think your business is protected and secure, but what you don’t know is that cyber attackers are getting more adept at breaching even the most advanced security systems and are coming up with new and sophisticated attacks to bring down your system infrastructure. Attacks like phishing, identity threat, denial of service, etc. can cause critical financial losses and result in sensitive client and internal company information being compromised. Attacks like these also taint a firm’s reputation that could have taken years to build and cause many customer losses. Hence, cyber security is incredibly important for everyone running a business.

Here’s looking at the top 5 reasons to incorporate cyber security into your business. 

1. Growing rate of Cloud data

The bigger the business, the more is the amount of data generated. Even small and medium-sized businesses have quite a lot of data like personnel files, sales reports, client details, marketing plans, etc. For ease of operation and to resolve storage issues, most companies back up their data in private cloud systems. While most cloud providers have their own security layers, the data still exists online and is susceptible to a security breach.

The threat is more severe if you take into consideration organizations like banks, or fine corps, or even government institutes. The vast amount of sensitive information is at play here, and even the tiniest breach could result in a massive amount of financial losses and put lakhs of people at risk. Thus, protecting against such attacks is the need of the hour. You can reach out to any IT consultancy to guide you through securing your system. 

2. Employee errors

This is yet another aspect of your company which can make it susceptible to attacks. It isn’t just important to adopt security measures, but you must also train your staff to be vigilant and alert while handling work-related tasks. Even the slightest negligence, say, something as small as clicking on the wrong email link can bring down your entire system. Moreover, your staff needs to understand when and where not to divulge sensitive information.

Nowadays, attackers are getting smart too. They could ask for information by creating an official-looking form on a site, or pose as bank executives and ask for private information. It is thus important to make your employees aware of such cases, and ensure that they are conscientious about their responsibilities. 

3. Harming reputation and Goodwill

It could take you years to build up a successful business. Hard work, grit, long hours, an unflinching vision, and sharp, shrewd business acumen is what it takes to see your dream come true. But imagine how it would feel if everything you worked for, your entire reputation, and your precious clients, all are lost in the blink of an eye!  Just contemplating it is scary, isn’t it?  Well, cyber attackers thrive on this fear to catch vulnerabilities in your system and bring your company to its knees. This is why attacks like Denial of service and various Ransomware threats are highly dreaded.

They could lock you out of your own system until you agree to pay the ransom. Or they could overload your server and put your site out of use, thus resulting in delayed services and lost clients. Plus, if they steal sensitive client information, your company could face lawsuits and fines. As such, it would be prudent to equip your business with proper security services. 

4. Advent of IoT

IoT or Internet of Things has become quite the norm these days with different appliances, security systems, and even centralized data systems being automated. While this provides convenience and control on the go, it also means that everything right from our smartphones to our laptops, computers,  to security codes and even biometric prints, are all automated, and in turn, vulnerable to attacks.

IoT, just as it has made life and work convenient for business owners, it has also given hackers a loophole. By gaining access at any one entry point, they can infiltrate the entire system and gain access to all the company’s private records, client information, and more. Thus, as IoT becomes more popular by the day, so does the need to employ IT support companies. 

5. Sophisticated attacks

When protecting your company from malware and potential threats, it is always important to know exactly what you’re up against. Day by day, as security systems get updated, so do the tools and skills of the hackers. These culprits keep devising new and sophisticated attacks which may be well disguised and hence that much more difficult to detect and tackle. As such, hiring professional IT security services and implementing cyber security protocols at your workplace becomes a top priority. 

Cyber crimes and attacks are on the rise and recent surveys state that as of last year, the losses owing to cyber attacks had reached a whopping $400 billion! As if this wasn’t enough, just last year, Deloitte, a cyber consulting giant itself faced a severe security breach. This should certainly make organizations pull up their socks and invest in cyber security measures at the earliest.