Cybersecurity is one of the biggest talking points in business these days, as cybercrime continues to adapt to nearly every line of defense. Methodology evolves non-stop, circumventing both practices and technologies, making it difficult for business owners and executives to keep up.
These stats collected by the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) as a part of its Cybersecurity Resource Center illuminate the current gap in cybersecurity coverage among medium-sized firms:
- Although 86% of firms operating in the middle market firms report that cybersecurity is important for their business, only 22% have invested in cyber insurance to protect their assets from a breach
- Whereas only 45% of surveyed firms have employed an up-to-date strategy, 30% report that they have no strategy
- 75% report having been the victim of a hack, 16% report that they haven’t, and 9% of those surveyed “don’t know.”
Consider the Wanna Cry ransomware incident, which encrypted the data of thousands of businesses in the UK (including the entirety of the National Health Service) and held them to ransom. By the end of that weekend, Wanna Cry had infected thousands of networks in over 197 countries around the world.
That said, the integrity of business data isn’t the only consideration for executives when it comes to cybersecurity. If we’re being honest, the cost is a major concern as well. When trying to find the right antivirus, firewall, or backup solution for your firm, the price tag counts for just as much as the effectivity.
Then there are the ongoing costs. It likely won’t be enough to simply buy the security hardware and software and leave it at that. To be truly confident in the installation, configuration and ongoing performance of cybersecurity solutions, you need expert support, which is an additional cost.
But wait, there’s more – what about your staff? The key to truly comprehensive cyber security is simple, yet often overlooked: the user. “Set it and forget it” security solutions fail to account for how important the user is. Even the most effective digital security measures can be negated by simple human error, which is why conventional solutions are simply not enough to ensure your business’ safety. Much of cyber security is dependent on the user, and as such it’s vital that you properly educate your employees in safe conduct – that costs as well.
With all this in mind, it can be easy to see why some in the middle market are hesitant to fully invest in cybersecurity, even when it’ll put their business at risk. However, what they’re not aware of are all the benefits — fiscal and otherwise — that proper cybersecurity can offer.
It’s important to consider the kind of fiscal damage you can avoid by properly defending your firm. Financial damages from cybercrime will quickly outweigh the cost of robust cybersecurity. Don’t take our word for it – NCMM reports that those companies that described cybersecurity as “extremely important” noted a growth in revenue of 7.8%. Compare that to those firms that deemed it “very important”, who’s revenue grew 4.7%, and those who rated it “not important”, who’s revenue only grew by 3.9%.
So how can you get the best of both worlds, both with security and your bottom line? Take note of these key recommendations:
- Implement ongoing cyber threat awareness training: Each member of your staff, regardless of their position, needs to be properly and continuously educated on the latest threats. A level of awareness right across the firm, achieved through training programs and best practices is crucial.
- Get expert support: Brainlink provides comprehensive security services and solutions to help keep your firm productive and profitable. We improve your security and compliance postures by implementing Daily Firewall Reviews and Daily Backups Review each and every business day, which allows us to identify threats and instances of employee misconduct.
We also develop unique Scheduled Security Reporting Framework to help firms like yours manage the future of your business’ IT security, considering a number of factors specific to your business, including the state of servers, workstations, storage, vendor notices, industry trends and your employees’ behavior to provide you with guidance that is uniquely tailored to your business.
So, the question isn’t really whether you can afford to pay for the right cybersecurity measures at your firm; the question is, can you afford not to?
Don’t overlook the ROI you could get by taking cybersecurity seriously at your firm. To learn more, get in touch with Brainlink right away at {phone} or {email}.