June 30, 2020

Why is Cybersecurity Important for Businesses?

Bones Ijeoma

CEO and co-founder

All types of cyber attacks come with serious consequences. However, cyber attacks on businesses come with huge implications.

Cyber attacks are on the rise and small as well as large scale businesses are now facing issues in this regard. It is the need of the hour for businesses to be aware of issues like who does cybersecurity affect and the cyber security impacts on society. The best way to protect your business is by investing in cyber security practices and understanding the advantages of cyber security. From small practices like installing and scanning your systems using a reliable anti-virus software, backing up company data and setting stronger passwords to major changes like having a cyber security service provider on board, there are a number of different things businesses can opt for. Spending time, money and other resources on cyber security may seem like a burden, but rest assured that it is an investment in the long run that will benefit the business greatly in the years to come. The importance of cyber security in 2020 is a major discussion and no business should take these issues lightly.

Up until a few years ago, people in general and even businesses did not take cyber security very seriously. However, the incidents of cyber attacks and data thefts have increased significantly over the last couple of years. This has led one to realize the importance of cyber security in business.

All types of cyber attacks come with serious consequences. However, cyber attacks on businesses come with huge implications. There are so many people associated with a business. From the business’s own data to the information related to the employees and even the clients and customers - cyber attacks on businesses can come with major security problems. These attacks can cause major damage that can tarnish not only monetary resources but may also affect the business’s image in the eyes of the customers.

What is Cyber Security?

In the modern era, the internet and technology are an integral part of our everyday lives. The internet has made its way into almost all walks of life. Businesses are also joining the bandwagon and now almost all business matters and transactions have shifted to online mediums.

With the increased use of the internet and technology comes the huge risk of attacks. Cyber attacks are one of the biggest consequences associated with the use of the internet. Therefore, deploying measures for cyber security is integral. It involves protecting and recovering networks, data, devices and computer systems etc. The main goal of cyber security is to ensure a strong firewall and defense against cyber attacks.

Significance of Cyber Security:

The importance of cyber awareness is most important given our regular use and reliance on the internet. From simple everyday tasks to more complex and larger roles and responsibilities, everything is now moving online. Businesses also make use of the internet to connect with their clients and offer their services.

Users are asked to provide sensitive information like their ID numbers, banking information etc. on these online portals on a regular basis. As a business, it is your responsibility to ensure security for every stakeholder involved. Businesses have to ensure:

  • A stable and convenient communication stream
  • Flawless and hassle free execution of tasks
  • Storing user information
  • Protecting user information
  • A strong defense against cyber attacks and threats against all business resources.

We can clearly see a rising trend in the use of technology. But as technology progresses, the risk and advancement of cybersecurity threats is also on the rise. Cyber criminals are also evolving, coming up with better and hard to detect means of sabotaging cyber security protocols. Defense seems to be getting more complex and hard however, the frequency and damage caused by these attacks is also increasing. Thus businesses have to be serious and realize the importance of cybersecurity.

Different Types of Cyber-Attacks:

There are a lot of different types of cyber attacks but the most common ones are:

Denial Of Service:

The denial of service attack, as indicated by the name, blocks the access to networks, services or applications. This attack works by occupying these resources so they are exhausted. As a result, when legitimate users try to access these resources, they are unable to do so.

Malware:

Malware such as viruses, trojan horses and worms etc. are used to infect the systems. The malware is shared via emails or external memory devices. These are programs that start running in the background of your system without you even realizing. As a result, the user barely even realizes that his system has been hijacked and the security is now compromised.

Botnets & Zombies:

Botnets are developed with the intention of stealing data from a system. These programs are also hard to detect and can easily infect a computer and lead to data theft and other serious security issues. The botnet eventually creates a network of all the compromised computers, known as zombies. The botnet acts as a controller and therefore takes over the control of all the zombie computers.

Scareware:

Scareware is also known as fake security warning. How a scareware works is basically the users are notified via popup that their system is at risk and has been attacked. To protect their system, they should install a “program” that will help them overcome the issue and ensure that their data is protected. This tricks the users into downloading the program. At times, the program endorsed is free but some scareware also makes the users pay a small amount of money to install the program. Users are under the impression that they have downloaded an anti-virus software but in reality, the software is the encoded program that is used to hijack their system.

Cyber Security Measures For Businesses:

There is a general misconception that only large scale businesses have to be concerned about cyber security. Although more established businesses face larger implications when at risk of a cyber attack, the small to medium scale businesses cannot put the importance of cyber security in 2020 behind their backs.

It is integral that all businesses, big or small, are aware of cyber security measures that can help them deal with cyber attacks and related attempts. Here are some precautions and practices that can help you tackle cyber attack issues:

1. Using Anti-Virus Software:

Make sure that all systems have a reputable and trustworthy anti-virus software installed in them. However, it is important to note that merely installing an antivirus software is not enough. Train the employees and remind them to scan their systems on a regular basis. The anti-virus softwares is quite efficient and therefore will catch most of the malware attacks. However, malware is also developing and advancing at a rapid rate. Therefore, at times the software is unable to detect it. Ensure that the anti-virus software that is being used is updated regularly so you can guarantee a strong defense against any unsolicited attack attempts.

2. Keeping Strong Passwords:

One of the most commonly committed mistakes that lead to successful cyber attacks is being negligent related to passwords. When setting up passwords make sure that they are hard to guess. Avoid setting obvious passwords. It is recommended that the passwords selected are a combination of alphabets (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers as well as symbols. Other than selecting strong passwords, you should also keep changing the passwords after a couple of months. This will help you ensure a strong defense against cyber security issues.

3. Hiring Reputable Cyber Security Companies:

There are plenty of best cybersecurity companies like AllSafeIT that offer cybersecurity services for their clients. These are renowned and trained professionals that specialize in cyber security protocols. They are well aware of cyber attacks as well as the tried and tested mechanisms to stand strong against them. Therefore, you can be sure that your business is safe and the risk of compromise on the business’s security is reduced to nothing when such companies and service providers are taken on board.

However, it is important that you only trust the best services like AllSafeIT for these responsibilities. If you end up hiring the wrong service provider, it will not only do more harm than good but will also rip you of your valuable time and money.

4. Data Backup:

Backing up the data is extremely important for businesses irrespective of their scope. Make sure that you backup the data on a regular basis. This way, even if a storage location is compromised and data is stolen, you will still have a copy at the backend that can be recovered. Make sure that the data backup is stored in a remote location. Making use of a cloud based data storage location is extremely important. Cloud storage has a tougher security mechanism which is hard to hack through. Therefore, you can be certain that the data is safe. Accessibility and easy availability are also some perks associated with making use of cloud storage solutions.

5. Prepare A Disaster Management Plan:

Businesses can put in efforts to safeguard their data and resources. But as already mentioned malware developers and hackers are also learning and growing day by day. Therefore, their ways of attacking systems and resources are also changing and evolving. At times, no matter how much the business tries to get around and prevent cyber attacks, they can still be a prey to these attempts.
Therefore, it is important that your business has a disaster management plan. The disaster management plan will serve as a blueprint that will help you recover from the damage and mitigate the effects of the cyber attack as much as possible.

Implications Of Cyber Attacks On Businesses:

In order to shed light on the need and importance of cyber security in the digital world, it is important to shed light on the implications of cyber attacks on businesses. Answering questions and discussing what will happen if cyber security for a business is compromised is extremely important in this regard.

The Internet is used as the main medium of communication between businesses and clients. It is inevitable for one to not provide information like their name, address and other financial information. When a hacker or attacker takes over the business’s data, this data related to customers is also accessed by the hacker. When customers are not sure that their data is safe when trusting a business, it is likely that they will find your competitor and your business will suffer due to the loss of customers.

The reputation of the business in the market is also affected by such incidents. If you want to ensure that your business is well respected in the market and has a good reputation, you should be aware of the importance of digital security.

If the business security has been hacked and hijacked, you will have to come up with a plan to mitigate the loss. This disaster management also comes with a cost. So there is one loss which is the loss of the valuable resources and the other loss is the cost of the measures taken to mitigate the damage done. Therefore, it is important to note that cyber attacks will also take a toll on your financial resources.

Conclusion:

All in all, cyber security is a very important aspect for businesses both large as well as small scale ones. Ensuring a fool proof cyber security mechanism and protocol is integral to ensure a great business reputation and earn the trust of customers. There are several ways in which businesses can ensure that they are protected and strong against cyber attacks. There are a number of different types of cyber security solutions that can be deployed in this regard.

Cyber attacks are on the rise. And the need to understand the advantages of cyber security is far more important than ever. Therefore, as a business owner, make sure that your focus is at the right place and you are deploying reliable cyber security protocols to safeguard your business resources and the data of not only your company but also of all the other stakeholders that are involved and directly linked to your company now.