By Fawad Malik
In this virtual world where most of the business transactions and deals are executed online, if an organisation’s website or any other web asset is hacked with an intention to steal customer data and information, the organisation is accountable for such data breach occurrence.
As transactions made over online stores and e-commerce websites always necessitate the exchange of sensitive details like credit card number and PINs etc., such details and information can easily be compromised if a small business or company doesn’t have a solid cybersecurity plan place.
Regardless of the mounting risk of being attacked by digital thieves and hackers, not all the small businesses are taking the essential steps they should take to prevent cybersecurity threats. Not just companies and business owners need to worry about electronic thieves, but they can also steal personal data and information like social security number, passwords and PINs from social media accounts and other online profiles to harm someone’s repute.
Below are the top 5 reasons why cybersecurity is becoming a priority for small businesses, have a look:
The rising cost of Breaches
Cyber-attacks can be expensive for a business more than thoughts and can be hard for any type of business to bear. It has been shown in stats that the average cost of a data breach in a firm is almost25,272 USD. A cyber-attack not only causes financial damage for a business but it can also have a bad impact on the online reputation of brand or company. In results, it can cause customers to lose trust in their favorite brand or company. Poor online security of a business can also lead it to the failure of getting new customers.
Portable devices increase the risk of data loss or theft
We are in a digital world where most of the businesses and companies support flexible working environment either by allowing employees to bring their own devices or by allowing them to work remotely. But, the use of personal devices at the workplace also brings the risks of losing devices along with the business data stored. A company can also suffer from data breach when an employee using a device on an unsecured and open network. However, data loss or theft in portable devices can be prevented by introducing BYOD policy at the workplace and by using reliable VPN solutions to encrypt confidential data and information. You can get hands-on trusted VPN reviews at Techloris if you are about to invest in a virtual private network for your business to beef up its online security.
Any business is responsible for customers’ data
It is not only the business data that can be compromised during a cybersecurity threat but you should also need to worry about the sensitive data of customers and you can be held accountable if compromised. Customers exchange their financial and sensitive details with you because they trust you. That is the reason; more and more businesses are encrypting their webpages with SSL certificates to make sure that all the details submitted to such pages are encrypted and safe as well.
The reputation of the business
The reputation of a business or company is something most vital to protect in this online world. If your business website or system is compromised during a cyber-attack, then you are at a higher risk of losing the trust of valuable customers that can impact overall revenues of your business in the long run. If the reputation of the business lost, you may need to invest a lot of bucks in terms of hiring PR agencies to restore the customer trust and repute in the market.
A proliferation of IoT devices
IoT is one of the latest tech trends not only transforming the way we do business but also making personal lives easier. Since IoT devices can speed up the personal and business-related tasks, these can also provide bad guys a way to hack into your business if not connected and managed properly. In simple words, IoT connected devices are considered as one of the major security weaknesses that can cost your business million dollars once attacked by cybercriminals. That’s why; you should always check all the smart devices connected to the network for vulnerabilities to make sure there are no loopholes for malicious persons.
