Research conducted by AV-Test, an independent IT security institute, has revealed that nearly 350,000 new malware programs are created daily. It is unfortunate that some companies still consider malware to be a minor threat, not realizing that something as trivial as a malware-infected email may be the cause of a massive database breach. What is more, Kaspersky’s 2018 Internet Security Report shows that many enterprises do not have the resources or the right technology to protect themselves against malicious attacks. Still, many of them run their everyday operations believing that they will never become the victim of a cyber-attack. In their view, they are either too small or too out of the mainstream to show up on the criminals’ radar. Unfortunately, cyber-criminals do not worry about the size or the reputation of their target as long as there is some profit to be made. If a business generates and stores digital information that its owners find valuable, there are those for whom it is worth stealing. But that does not mean that a company cannot defend itself efficiently.
Malicious attacks can be prevented simply by putting effort into establishing effective cyber-security strategies, including digital and non-digital methods of protecting assets, market positions, intellectual property, staff and customers. There are numerous articles covering cyber-security strategies. They suggest you should address three major areas to improve your company’s security – people, procedures and technology. Maybe you thought that implementing a cyber-security strategy means employing highly-experienced specialists, developing rock-solid security regulations, and equipping yourself with the right IT tools. You are right – but only to a certain extent. While all of these suggestions are perfectly reasonable, it’s also clear that they are quite ordinary and non-specific. So let’s delve deeper into this subject to find out how to build a robust cybersecurity strategy.
Putting Up Defenses
If you are running a company that operates globally and keeps growing by the minute, you already know that having your own IT department consisting of well-trained specialists is a must. However, you should also be aware that those people, as talented and hard-working as they probably are, may not be enough to prevent cyber-criminals from gaining access to classified information. After all, the security of your business is but one of their many time-consuming responsibilities.
A solution to this problem is, for example, to join forces with an external IT technology provider whose own team of experts will protect your company at all times. These days, providers such as Comarch offer the support and technologically advanced tools necessary for keeping cyber-criminals at bay. Having such a backup will significantly decrease your chances of becoming a target, or at least make you harder to attack. However, this does not mean that cyber-criminals will stop trying to infiltrate your IT infrastructure.
That is why it is critical for you to educate your employees on the established security rules. Research conducted by the Ponemon Institute reveals that human error is the cause of about 30% of all data breaches around the world. Considering that the majority of your employees most probably have only two or three passwords for multiple accounts (including the job-related ones), you have to assume that they will not pose a real challenge for an experienced cyber-criminal. Therefore, people working at your company should constantly be reminded of the ‘what ifs,’ so they do not act irresponsibly in the face of a stressful situation or a short moment of inattention.
An experienced cybersecurity technology provider such as Comarch will also suggest you to create a backup of all your data and store it in a modern data center. Keeping a copy of your sensitive information in such a heavily-guarded stronghold guarantees that, even if cyber-criminals were to find a way to delete data from your internal devices, you would be able to restore all lost material in no time. Knowing how significant data can be for today’s business environment (the majority of business operations are, basically, data-driven), you cannot take any risks or settle for half measures.
Still, the best advice of all is to ensure you always plan and carry out your projects with security in mind, especially if you can consult a technology provider at any given moment. Making security your priority will not only help you reduce the number of oversights that could jeopardize the company’s operations, but can also improve your business efficiency in general. Why? Because pushing yourself to check for vulnerabilities usually results in discovering that there are some other elements that you should never ignore. If you do not believe it, try it.
Better Late than Never
A few years ago, McAfee reported that the annual damage to the global economy caused by cybercrime was $445bn. After reading the latest cybersecurity studies, it is clear that today this number is snowballing. To arrest this rise, businesses need to act now. Building a robust cybersecurity strategy is a must. While working with companies such as Comarch will help you to improve your defensive skills, you must stay vigilant when using any network-connected device.
