For any business prioritising growth, cybersecurity should be a top concern. Potential investors analyse risk and want to see evidence of your firm taking steps to minimise that risk. A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy is one way of doing so.
With more and more cybersecurity breaches hitting the headlines, and recent breaches demonstrating even large multinational corporations like Equifax are not immune, it has never been more important to get your company’s cybersecurity plan organised.
These are the three cybersecurity considerations every small business must address to ensure their business is protected and secure. For more information on what you can do to minimise your business’s cyber risk, take a look at these tricks.
One Breach is All it Takes to Destroy Your Company’s Value
Cyber breaches expose sensitive data to prying eyes, disrupt operations, and can result in hefty financial losses. Recovering after a large cyber attack takes time and can have far-reaching effects of your brand and reputation.
Consider the case of TripAdvisor. In 2014, an attack left 1.4 million customers’ data at risk. It wasn’t even detected by the company. It wasn’t until customers cards began receiving charges that the breach was detected. The whole affair left TripAdvisor’s stock price significantly diminished and had a lasting impact on the public perception of the brand.
On the flip side, your company’s ability to prevent and contain cyber breaches can add considerable value to your business and make your business an enticing prospect for investors.
People are the Biggest Risk to Your Business
Many business owners believe that the biggest pillar of any cybersecurity strategy is its digital protections like anti-virus software and firewalls. In reality, it is your staff.
Human error, like clicking on a phishing email link or downloading suspicious software, is the weakest part of any cybersecurity strategy. Even with the best antivirus software in the world, if a human is deliberately downloading suspicious software and clicking suspicious links, there will be security threats.
That is why staff training should be an essential component of any cybersecurity strategy. Educating employees on cyber threats is essential for protecting your business and keeping operations running smoothly.
Small and Mid-Size Companies are Most Often Targeted
Small and medium-sized business owners are often of the mindset that they won’t fall victim to hackers because they aren’t large enough. But this is fundamentally not true. In fact, most attacks are aimed at small and medium-sized businesses because hackers know they don’t have the time and resources to dedicate teams to fighting cyber threats.
71% of cyber attacks target businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Not only are they easier targets for hackers, but they know that they may be able to use the smaller company as a backdoor to a larger one.
For example, in 2013, hackers were able to steal data on 40 million Target customers by hacking a small HVAC contractor that had undertaken work for the large retail giant.
This is why, no matter how small your company is, it pays to implement a coordinated and coherent cybersecurity strategy from the off.
