Why Businesses Should Invest

Life without the internet in this 21st century is unimaginable. Social media is everywhere and almost every person owns a phone and a computer or has access to the internet. Virtual life is almost as equally as significant as real life. The business world has largely taken advantage of this internet craze mainly through advertisement as well as widening their scale or market reach. The Internet offers unparalleled outreach and exposure to business entities. Conducting business online has been made easier by the advanced data warehousing techniques and with sophisticated wireless technology. The world has become a global village for businessmen and women who wish to take advantage of the internet. Thus, it has changed everything for the better, with an endless list of benefits such as commercial, management, communication and so on.

However, as easy and efficient as conducting business online may seem to be, enterprises must not overlook cyber threats involved in having your business online. There is a constant danger of cyber-attack’s for the sensitive data stored in cloud or on premise networks. Cybercriminals are coming up with sophisticated attack techniques to by-pass the strong security measures as technology develops. Attacks such as phishing have become more advanced with the emergence of AI. Such threats and attacks may lead to huge financial losses, loss of valuable data and may as well taint the company's image. Hence, cybersecurity is incredibly important for every business enterprise.

Below is a list of 5 top reasons why a business should invest in cybersecurity:

1. The exponential growth rate of cloud data

The bigger the business, the higher the amount of data generated by an entity. Even small business have data such as client details, personal files, marketing plans, sales reports and so on. Most companies, therefore, opt to back up their data in private cloud systems. Despite comprehensive security systems laid by those firms, the data is still available online and is very much susceptible to attacks or a breach. The threat is more severe for organizations with sensitive information such as fine corps, government institutions or banks. With so much vital data in play, a small breach can crush business or lead to massive financial losses which may take your business years to recover from. Therefore, investing in cybersecurity is no more an option but a need as it protects your business from significant financial loss from a data breach.

2. Human factor

Errors by employees can render your business susceptible to cyber-attacks. Mere adoption of strict security policies won’t fully protect your business. But you also need to train you're your staff to be alert and more vigilant while dealing with work-related tasks. Failure to create a competent awareness among your employees might bring the entire organization down. Implement cyber policies to help employees know when and where send and handle vital data. Hackers are also getting smarter with time, hence train your employees so that they become conscious of their responsibilities.

3. Advent of IoT

Internet of Things has infiltrated our environment today and is the norm these days with most security systems, appliances and various data systems being augmented. Automated systems provide control on the go and convenience but also make us vulnerable to cyber-attacks since everything, right from our computers to security codes, smartphones to laptops are all attack surfaces. IoT has made life easier for businesses, but at the same time created several loopholes for black hat hackers. They can use one point to compromise the entire system and gain access to the organization's confidential records, client data, etc.

4. Sophisticated Attacks

It is usually elemental to know your target as you perform a threat hunt in an attempt to protect your business against threats such as DDOs, malware, phishing, etc. as technology advances, hackers work tirelessly day by day to by-pass their set security systems. As a result, they come up with highly sophisticated attacks that are more difficult to detect and counter manage. As such, investing in cybersecurity and implementing cyber-defense protocols at your enterprise becomes a top priority.

5. Harming reputation and Goodwill

Building a successful business takes long hours of hard work. Although, these can be lost in a blink of an eye in case of an intrusion into your network by a malicious hacker. How does that feel? It is scary, isn't it? Cybercriminals thrive on this fear to exploit vulnerabilities in your system and bring your business to its knees. Hackers may use attacks such as DDOs to lock you out of your system until you abide by the ransom demands. Such an incident will lead to delays in service delivery to clients hence others may flee to business with reliable customer services. Your business may also be implicated in expensive lawsuits and fines if sensitive client information is stolen. Such situations necessitate the need for businesses to invest in cybersecurity.