Our reliance on technology is higher than ever, giving hackers more open doors. This article answers “why cybersecurity is important for business?”
Technology has become an increasingly integral aspect of the workplace. Almost every business process works with technology – from email correspondence to financial transactions to collaborative work documents. Thus, businesses rely on technology to be connected at all times and conduct work effectively.
No business is safe from hackers. It’s no longer a question of “if”, but “when”. If huge companies like Facebook and Google experienced a data breach, what more of smaller companies? In fact, smaller companies are at greater risk. Why?
Why Cybersecurity is Important for Business – Even for SMBs
As mentioned, modern businesses rely heavily on technology. Hence, their exposure to cyberattacks has only increased. No matter what service or product a business offer, or the size of the company, all businesses are at risk.
Even the healthcare industry is no exemption; there’s a 25% increase in cyberattacks on the healthcare industry in 2020.
There are a couple of reasons why small businesses are a major target for cyberattacks. First, they usually lack resources to install security measures.
Most businesses store sensitive data such as personal and financial details – and hackers are desperate to get such information. Yet, small businesses have weaker defenses for such attacks.
Meanwhile, larger companies with ample resources for cybersecurity are becoming harder to attack. Furthermore, hackers use small businesses as backdoors to their true targets – the larger corporations. That is because small businesses often have partnerships with larger corporations.
The Cost of Data Breaches
Why cybersecurity is important for business? Another reason is the cost of attacks.
Data breaches don’t damage only those whose information is stolen. It can be a death sentence for the business itself. According to Kaspersky, the average cost of a breach for a small business is around $38,000. That’s indeed a huge loss when you don’t have much capital to begin with.
Moreover, most businesses fail to back up their data. If your business is one of those, losing data can mean losing your business altogether.
Even if you manage to survive all the factors mentioned above, there is another damage that can greatly affect your business – reputational damage. Your clients expect that their information is safe.
Failure to meet their expectations could damage your reputation, resulting in the loss of clients. Furthermore, it is tough to recover from reputational damage. In fact, some don’t even recover from it at all.
Investing in cybersecurity tools often comes at a high price. Small business owners may find that investment tough to make. However, all businesses must make that investment. Preventive tools far outweigh the cost brought by data breaches and financial liabilities. As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Tips to Strengthen Security
Besides investing in tools, you and your employees must practice cyber hygiene. All it takes is a little knowledge on the subject. Listed below are just a few crucial steps you may take:
- Use strong and unique passwords, and update them regularly
- Only allow employees access to the information they need for their specific job. Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of defense
- Regularly conduct security awareness training.
- Hire a consulting firm or IT specialist to audit your system for weaknesses.
