5 Reasons to Update Your Cybersecurity Protocols Now
In this digital age, it’s more important than ever for businesses to consider how their critical data, information, and infrastructure are being used and stored. And as cyberattacks increase in sophistication and frequency, companies need to be prepared with solid cybersecurity protocols. But what is cybersecurity, and how does it protect your business? Cybersecurity is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. Unfortunately, companies without robust cybersecurity protocols face potential cyberattacks that could cripple their business and leave them unable to continue operating. So, today, let’s look at 5 reasons to update your cybersecurity protocols now to safeguard your data, infrastructure, and business.
1. Cybercrime is at an All-Time High
The primary reason businesses need to update their cybersecurity policies immediately is that cybercrime is at an all-time high. For example, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2,084 ransomware complaints in 2021 – a 62% increase from 2020. And this number only accounts for approximately 10% of all total breaches in the U.S. alone. If you don’t think your business needs strong cybersecurity protocols accompanied by disaster recovery and business continuity plans, then, unfortunately, you’re leaving your business wide open to these types of security breaches. Plus, it’s not just large corporations like Sony Pictures and Kia Motors (among many others who’ve experienced major data breaches) that need to implement these strategies. Ultimately, even small businesses need to update their cybersecurity protocols to prepare and protect themselves from potential breaches as cybercrime only continues to increase.
2. Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Since elevated levels of cybercrime are becoming the norm, it’s more important than ever to be proactive, not reactive, when it comes to your cybersecurity protocols. Your client data, employee information, and business infrastructure are important, meaning it’s just as important to protect them. You need to actively identify where your current policies are falling short in order to take steps to close those openings. And, if you don’t have a cybersecurity policy in place at all, you need to look into implementing one immediately. A recent study published in Forbes identified that only 50% of U.S. businesses have a cybersecurity program in place. That means that half of all businesses in the states are leaving themselves open to potential threats. What’s worse is that 60% of companies that are victims of a cyberattack go out of business within six months. Therefore, to safeguard your business, you must be proactive and not reactive when it comes to building, implementing, and maintaining a cybersecurity policy.
3. Safeguard Your Reputation and Bottom Line
Being unable to manage sensitive client data in the case of a breach or hacking incident does not look good for your business. That’s why it’s essential to continually update your cybersecurity protocols to safeguard your reputation and bottom line. A report by Forbes found that 46% of organizations that experienced a data breach also suffered reputational damage. And the problem is that once your client data has been compromised, many customers would rather go elsewhere, meaning not only is your reputation affected, but so is your bottom line. Plus, there are many other reasons your bottom line becomes affected because of a cyberattack, including share value fluctuations, legal expenses, and the high price tag that comes with restoring your data and services. For example, the cost of an average payout of a ransomware attack in 2021 rose to $150,000 but could be as high as over $1.2 million now. This is ultimately what’s putting many companies out of business after experiencing a data breach, meaning taking steps to safeguard your reputation and bottom line by having a strong cybersecurity policy cannot be underrated.
4. Client Attraction and Retention
Besides the expense of trying to recover your business, one of the worst results of a cyberattack is losing your clients to a competitor who has stronger cybersecurity policies in place. That’s why knowing exactly how you will safeguard sensitive client data should be an integral part of your client attraction and retention strategy. The bottom line is that many people don’t want to continue sharing their information or working with a business that they know is compromised. In fact, a recent survey found that 87% of consumers are willing to walk away and take their business elsewhere if, or when, a data breach occurs. So, rather than potentially lose a significant portion of your client base, why not look into updating your cybersecurity protocols today, so you and your clients know that your business is protected in the case of a breach or incident.
5. It’s Time for a Scheduled Evaluation
A strategy to ensure that your cybersecurity protocols are up to date is by knowing when it’s time for a scheduled evaluation and subsequent updates. Many business owners believe that once they put their policies in place, they’re set in stone. Unfortunately, the reality is that the hackers trying to uproot your organization are always looking for new and improved ways to penetrate your systems. So, the problem becomes that if you’re not continually looking for ways to improve, you could be leaving yourself open to cyberattacks. And in this case, ignorance is not bliss. Rather, it’s critical to know how your cybersecurity protocols function and what to do in the case of a breach. For example, a cybersecurity research group recently found that there are more than 1.2 million businesses with exposed MySQL servers in the U.S. alone. So, if you aren’t extremely familiar with your cybersecurity policies or if you skip a scheduled evaluation for whatever reason, you could be a part of that statistic without even knowing.
Final Thoughts
All business owners want to keep their client data safe, safeguard their infrastructure, and ensure their business runs smoothly. So then, why do many companies still not consider robust cybersecurity protocols to be a critical part of their disaster recovery and business continuity plans? With cybercrime at an all-time high, it’s more important than ever to be proactive, not reactive, when putting these policies in place. These protocols not only help you with client attraction and retention but also with safeguarding your reputation and bottom line. But putting these policies in place and then forgetting about them will also not work. You need to continually review your cybersecurity protocol, schedule evaluations, and address updates as needed to truly keep your business safe from the ever-increasing number of data breaches that U.S. businesses face.
If your business needs an updated cybersecurity protocol but you’re unsure where to begin, contact our experts at www.inland-prod.com today! [button font_size="20" color="#064984" text_color="#ffffff" icon="phone" url="tel:9092568750" width="" target="_self"]Call Us 909-256-8750[/button]
