It does not matter what type of business you run – whether it is a florist or a financial services firm – you need to be concerned with data security. Nowadays, businesses are at a severe risk of being attacked by cyber criminals, who are becoming more and more sophisticated in their approach. A data breach could be devastating for your company, and many businesses have closed as a consequence. With that in mind, read on to discover more about the reasons why you need to be concerned about data security.
The statistics don’t lie – There is only one place to begin, and this is with the statistics regarding data breaches around the world. They don’t make pretty reading! It is predicted that by 2021, the spending on cyber security will exceed $1 trillion. It is also believed that the damage costs caused by cyber crime will hit $6 trillion per year by 2021.
You are a target – A lot of business owners make the mist of assuming that their company is not a target. This is especially the case for small business owners. They believe that hackers and cyber criminals are only interested in the large corporations. This could not be further from the truth. Every type of business is a target. Yes, large companies may be more lucrative, but small companies are viewed as an easier payday. This is because cyber criminals recognise that small businesses do not have the budget required to invest in security heavily and that they will not have their own dedicated security department. Moreover, a lot of small businesses use outdated systems, which are easy to breach. The sooner that you recognise your business is a target, the better.
Cyber criminals are attacking from all angles – As mentioned in the introduction, cyber criminals are getting more and more sophisticated in their approach. This means we need to get more sophisticated in our defence. There is no end to the different tactics that cyber criminals can use to breach your systems. This includes breaches on point of sale systems for small business, phishing and email scams, malware, and much more!
You could end up in financial ruin if you aren’t concerned with data security – The consequences of a data breach can be disastrous. You will face monumental charges. Not only will you need to spend money on determining how the breach occurred and patching up the vulnerability, but you will likely face charges for not complying with data and security laws. You will also need to spend money compensating your clients and then there the fraud losses your business will experience as well. On top of this, it is going to cost you a lot of money rebuilding your reputation, which will be incredibly difficult to do. You will lose a lot of customers because you failed to protect their personal information. When the trust is broken in any type of relationship, rebuilding it can take a lot of time and effort, which may be something your business does not have. When you take all of this into account, it is not hard to see why a lot of companies suffer a fatal end after a breach.
Your employees are putting you at risk – Last but not least, the final reason why you need to be concerned with data security is that if you aren’t, your employees could be putting your business at huge risk of an attack. Did you know that a large number of data breaches happen because of an insider attack? This is not necessarily a malicious attack, although they do happen. These are attacks that happen because of security errors. If you do not dedicate time and resources to cyber security training for your employees, you are putting your business at risk.
As you can see, there are many different reasons why you need to be concerned with data security today. If your business currently does not make a significant effort to reduce the chances of a data breach, you could find yourself facing huge reputational damage and even bigger fines. This is the last thing any business owner wants, so make an effort to secure your business today.
