Protect Data Breach Grand Rapids MI

Can Your Cybersecurity Prevent A Financially Crushing Data Breach?

It’s not uncommon for organizations to operate under the assumption that the odds of suffering a data breach are in their favor. That may seem reasonable if you take a cursory look at the total number of breaches against the number of organizations. Consider the following U.S. cybersecurity information, according to Statista.

  • 2019: 1,473 data breaches exposed 164 million record
  • 2018: 1,257 data breaches exposed 471 million records
  • 2017: 1,632 data breaches exposed 197 million records

If one were to consider the number of incursions against the fact that there were upwards of 160 million businesses in the U.S. during 2019, the odds would appear to be in your favor. But statistics have a way of blurring certain realities.

One such fact is that many ransomware victims payoff cybercriminals and never report the breach. Another is that hackers target outfits with weak and vulnerable defenses. In terms of statistics being on your side, the chances of a data breach increase exponentially unless you have the enterprise-level cybersecurity to deter a systems penetration. And that’s the elephant in the room. Will your cybersecurity prevent a financially devastating data breach?

How Costly Are Data Breaches?

According to resources such as Digital Guardian, the cost of a data breach “depends on the country and industry but in general, can span anywhere from $1.25 million to $8.19 million.” The losses associated with data breaches are generally tallied by accounting for the financial setbacks that include the following.

  • Drained bank accounts
  • Loss of digital assets
  • Loss of productivity due to downtime
  • Rebuilding IT infrastructure
  • Purchasing replacement equipment

But perhaps the greatest impact to an organization after a stinging data breach cannot adequately be measured in dollars. When cybercriminals leverage your data to get to your clients’ valuable information, your trusted reputation suffers a horrible loss.

What Can Organizations Do To Harden Cybersecurity Defenses?

The first step toward developing and implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy requires an acknowledgment that deficiencies may exist. The fact that your outfit has not yet been penetrated does not necessarily mean it enjoys immunity.

Industry leaders would be well served to have a third-party cybersecurity expert conduct a review of your systems, defenses, and identify flaws. With such knowledge in hand, decision-makers can upgrade common weaknesses by taking the following measures.

  • Workforce Training: Digital thieves put a great deal of time and energy into tripping up untrained employees. Using techniques such as email phishing schemes, and password spraying, among others, workers who can log in to your network are considered a weak link. By providing ongoing cybersecurity awareness and training, they can help deter threat actors.
  • Close Gaps: The rise of work-from-anywhere policies have opened the door to increased cybersecurity gaps. Hackers now prey on unsecured networks, among other defense shortfalls to breach systems. Virtual Private Networks, endpoint devices security, and encrypted data transmissions, among others, are security necessities, moving forward.
  • Automation: Strategies such as password management programs ensure that random and adequately complex passwords are used to access your business system. Others, such as two-factor authentication, help prevent hackers from breaching your network even if criminals gain access to an employee user profile.

The value of enterprise-level cybersecurity cannot be understated. According to the 2019 Verizon Mobility Security Index, upwards of 87 percent of organizations have identified threats. Whether cybercriminals manage to breach your data or not will largely depend on the ability to deter them. Hackers typically troll for vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Strengthening your cybersecurity footprint will quietly deter online thieves without paying a business-crushing price.

Allow the experts at Micro Vision Inc. to get your cybersecurity where you need it to be and ready to ward off cybercriminals.

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