Cybersecurity is important for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a large corporation with a lot to lose or a small business that relies on technology to operate, cybersecurity risks are real. If you don’t take care to protect your business from hackers, you could lose clients, money, and even your business itself.
But why is cybersecurity so critical? What are the consequences of not taking steps to prevent cyber-attacks?
Why Cybersecurity is Important
Businesses that fail to make cybersecurity a priority are making costly mistakes. We live in a digital world. Billions of people carry smartphones that are connected to the Internet 24/7. If you’re not taking steps to protect your software, internet connection, and systems from cyber attacks, your business can be adversely affected.
It Protects Customers and Employees
Cybersecurity should be an integral part of your operations. Let’s say that you need custom software for your company’s internal operations, and you hire a company like Redwerk, a software development company, to create it.
Cybersecurity should be a part of the software development lifecycle.
This will help ensure that your software is protected and reduces the risk of hackers finding their way into your system. Not only will this help protect your employees and their information, but this will also help protect your customers and their sensitive data.
It Prevents Losses
Losses from cyber attacks soared to almost $1 trillion in 2020. On an individual basis, research shows that:
· Malware cost businesses $2.6 million in 2018.
· Ransomware costs rose to $646,000, up 21% from $533,000, between 2017 and 2018.
Can your business afford a cybersecurity breach? In addition to tangible costs, you also have to consider the cost to your reputation and the damage to the trust of your customers.
Protecting Your Business: A Cybersecurity Checklist
Cybersecurity is a broad topic and can encompass many different areas. To make sure that you’re aware of everything that needs to be done to protect your business, here’s a checklist of the most important areas for you to be aware of:
1. Have Strong Passwords for Everything
Keeping your passwords simple and easy to remember is a good start, but it’s not enough. A strong password should be at least twelve characters long, and it should include a combination of the following:
- Letters
- Numbers
- Symbols.
2. Ensure That Employees Know How to Keep Their Passwords Secure
You might want to consider making your passwords something that only your employees know so that even if a hacker can access your network, they can’t get into your systems.
3. Keep Your Software Up-to-Date
Hackers often use bugs in software to gain access to networks. When a bug is discovered, it’s usually fixed quickly, but you need to keep your software updated in order to be protected.
For custom-developed software, consider having a cybersecurity firm analyze and check your software regularly to check for vulnerabilities.
4. Secure Your Wi-Fi Network
If your business uses Wi-Fi, you need to make sure that your network is secure. This means making sure that you change the default password and that the network is also password protected.
5. Keep Your Company Documents Safe
You should also put a strong password on any documents that contain sensitive information. If you keep your documents on a cloud storage service, you can use software that encrypts the files and keeps them safe.
6. Back Up Your Data
Even if you’re using software to encrypt your documents, you should still consider making backups of your data. This is especially important if you don’t use a cloud service or if you have sensitive data that might be useful to a hacker.
7. Have a Plan for Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that can encrypt your files and then demand that you pay a ransom to reaccess them. If your business has a plan to deal with ransomware, then you’re more likely to be able to recover your files.
8. Prepare for a Data Breach
Your business may never be the victim of a data breach, but you should still be prepared. You should have a plan to deal with a data breach, and you should also make sure that your employees know what to do in the event of a breach.
Cybersecurity is an essential concern for all businesses. Ignoring it or failing to protect your operations from cyber-attacks could potentially bankrupt your business, tarnish your reputation and put sensitive information in the wrong hands.
