Cybersecurity is exhausting to keep up with for several reasons, but for businesses, one of the biggest is its drain on your time. Cybersecurity oversights can lead to downtime, diminished trust in your organization, and significant capital losses. Today, we want to cover three common scenarios where it pays to pay attention to cybersecurity.
Ransomware Attacks
Imagine what would happen if, all of a sudden, all of your business’ resources were locked behind a paywall, with the only option being to pay up or suffer the consequences.
This is what happens with ransomware, and it can dramatically impact operations to the point where your business cannot function unless you take drastic measures. Without the ability to work, deadlines will be missed, projects grind to a screeching halt, access to important files and tools is virtually nonexistent, and your business cannot make any money. Yes, you can pay the ransom, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll get the decryption key necessary to unlock your business’ future.
This is why it’s important to have proactive security measures in place; it’s much easier to prevent ransomware attacks than it is to recover from them (and their resulting damages).
Data Breaches
Businesses hold a lot of sensitive information, including customer details, employee records, and confidential company plans, all of which could be accessed during a data breach.
When consumers and the public can no longer trust your business to protect itself, you can kiss your company’s future goodbye. A business suffering from a data breach pays in more ways than one, including a significant downturn in profits, data recovery costs, potential regulatory fines, and even legal action. It’s hard to bounce back after such an embarrassment, and the worst part is that it can be prevented with a little proactive thought.
It’s better to anticipate an attack and work to prevent it than let one happen due to negligence or the faulty belief that you’re not a target.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are designed to take advantage of your weakest security point: your users.
These attacks come in many forms, but they most frequently come in by email, phone call, or text message. They might request immediate action, such as a wire transfer of funds, clicking on a link, paying an invoice, confirming order details, changing passwords… the list goes on. In any case, these all lead to a business email compromise scam, and they’re dangerous.
The best approach to combating phishing attacks is, once again, to be prepared for them through proactive security measures and extensive employee training.
Security is a Shared Business Responsibility
Of course, no one is 100% immune to these types of threats, and mistakes do happen. However, they can be significantly mitigated through a shared sense of responsibility for business security. Here are ways you can foster such an approach:
- Be aware - Understand common threats and red flags.
- Practice good habits - Use strong, unique passwords; enable multi-factor authentication; think before you click.
- Follow protocols - Adhere to your organization's security policies and procedures.
- Speak up - If something seems suspicious, report it. If you see an area for improvement in security, suggest it.
To get started, call us today at (281) 916-1101.
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