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Apr 19, 2020 (WiredRelease via COMTEX) — In the US, the amount of money lost due to cybercrimes was an estimated $1.3 billion back in 2019. One of the main challenges in dealing with cybercrimes is scalability. If a criminal wanted to break into a hundred houses, he’d have to hit them one at a time. But a criminal exploiting a weakness in outdated Windows machines can hit a hundred companies within minutes, copying files, stealing documents, and causing widespread damage in a short window of time.
That reality makes it easier for a few bad actors to cause a lot of damage to a lot of companies, and hackers are getting smarter by the day. They are always finding out new ways to strike and new ways to break into systems. On top of that, there is a problem in the corporate culture surrounding cyber security. The leading cause of data breaches in the world is still email, and “123456” is still one of the world’s most used passwords.
It’s safe to say that the problem of cybercrime is both due to hackers being crafty and to companies being ill-prepared to handle different types of attacks. Here are some reasons why you should consider investing the money necessary to make sure your company has strong cyber security measures in place.
It saves you money
Often, the money you have to spend to improve your cyber security is only a small fraction of what suffering a cyber-attack will cost you. Hackers rarely steal money directly from business bank accounts, but they are able to steal information and ask for ransoms in exchange for the information not being leaked, or in exchange for returning files that are crucial for your company’s operation.
Should a leak happen, your company may also be held responsible for not properly securing the data, which can lead to very costly lawsuits.
It helps protect your reputation
Customer trust in all industries follows the same rule: it’s hard to earn it, and it’s easy to lose it. Even if your company suffers a minor breach, and the financial consequences are small, that will not protect you from the hammer of public opinion. Once your customers don’t feel safe sharing their data with you, that ship has sailed. No amount of promises and reassurances will ever completely earn their trust back.
Your competitors will, of course, capitalize on that and welcome everyone who chooses to jump ship from your business with open arms.
Hackers aren’t always out for money. Sometimes they are entirely happy just causing chaos and making people feel ashamed and frustrated. Think back to every email you and your coworkers have ever sent — how big would be the damage if they were all published online in full?
At best such a stunt would give your competitors a lot of information into your company and your clients. At worst it could become a PR nightmare that ruins your company. The effects can be similarly negative if hackers manage to steal the social media accounts of executives in your company.
