Organisations use a wide range of tools and best practices for protecting themselves against cyberattacks. However, malicious efforts targeting end users are driving the need for a more people-focused approach to cybersecurity.

Despite increased corporate cybersecurity spending, 2021 is shaping up to be the worst year for data breaches ever and 68% of business leaders feel their cybersecurity risks are increasing. As a result of the increased breach activity, an increasing number of businesses are suffering substantial financial losses, brand harm, and consumer alienation issues.

Hackers continuously develop more sophisticated countermeasures for each milestone reached in cybersecurity. This means that companies must keep their cybersecurity knowledge up to date or risk falling into the hands of hackers.

You are putting your crucial corporate information at risk

A successful cyber-attack will result in the loss of your company’s critical data, including personal information about your customers. Attackers may use this information to hold you ransom or harass your clients.

As a cyber professional, the most important thing you can do for your company is to deter cyber attacks while still having policies and procedures in place so that if one does happen, your company will be ready to recover. Many companies, including billion-dollar financial and healthcare firms, have fallen victim to hackers stealing customer data. When hackers steal your customer data, you run the risk of being sued indefinitely and ultimately going bankrupt. Information in your database can be erased or overwritten by a virus or malware, resulting in significant losses. Data recovery can take a long time and be not only time consuming but also extremely expensive.

Confidential documents and information that has been stolen could be used against you and your clients

Personal information can be used by hackers for impersonation and identity theft. For example, they might use your customers’ information to buy illegal products on the black market, putting their reputation in jeopardy. They may also use personal information to obtain credit, leaving your customers with unpaid bills.

As a result, companies lose access to critical consumer, employee, and tactical data unless they pay cyber criminals an amount of money in bitcoin. Cyber criminals also attempt to make a data breach public in order to extort large amounts of money from companies. Customers are likely to cancel pending and active orders and seek services elsewhere if they learn that their information has been exposed to hackers. As previously stated, they may report you to authorities, resulting in endless investigations, a tarnished reputation, and, in the worst-case scenario, bankruptcy or the government’s withdrawal of operating licenses.

Lawsuits and fines are two other long-term consequences that have an impact on companies. When large quantities of personal information are exposed as a result of cyber attacks, civil lawsuits are common. These cases can take years to resolve and can be very costly. Furthermore, if the affected company deals with health care details and is subject to HIPAA or BAA enforcement, they could be subject to hefty penalties if they fail to comply.

Coming under attack could majorly disrupt your business activities

Severe cyberattacks can deface your online activities in minutes, and detecting and correcting them can take weeks. A DDoS attack, for example, will bring your online website to a complete halt in less than a minute. Even the most well-known websites have been known to be brought down by this type of attack.

There is a lot of ransomware out there that can deface websites and only let you in if you meet certain requirements. At least 60% of businesses that are subjected to cyberattacks fail within six months.

Customers are going to stay away from a company if they learn it has been a victim of a cyber attack in the past. Many customers have stayed away due to a lack of resources to deal with the reputational harm caused by cyber-attacks. According to Security Magazine, a single cyber attack costs an average company $11.7 million per year.

How to protect the Enterprise from Cyber Attacks

Cyber attacks have both short and long-term consequences for companies. You can, however, greatly reduce the chances of an attack and minimise the harm if one does happen.

Building a Cybersecurity Culture: It takes time and effort to develop a strong security culture, but it is unquestionably the right path to take. Many organisations are already working to make this cultural shift because they recognise that information security requires the same level of commitment and accountability as other risks such as financial and operational risks.

Use a Secure Communications Platform: When you invest in cyber tools for your organisation; this will help protect both you and your employees against cyber attacks and also handle critical events. Salt Communications works with businesses of all sizes all over the world to allow them to have secure, confidential conversations from anywhere, at any time. Your best bet for ensuring that the threat of a cyber attack never becomes a reality is to implement a secure communications platform and provide extensive and ongoing cyber security training to your employees.

Business executives can achieve smarter, faster, and more connected futures with successful cyber-risk management and drive business growth. With these new security settings in place, you’ll have a better handle on what’s going on in your business network and will be able to spot threats or attacks more quickly.

For more information on this article, sign up for a free trial or to talk to a member of the Salt Communications’ team, please contact us on info@saltcommunications.com.

About Salt Communications

Salt Communications is a multi-award winning cyber security company providing a fully enterprise-managed software solution giving absolute privacy in mobile communications. It is easy to deploy and uses multi-layered encryption techniques to meet the highest of security standards. Salt Communications offers ‘Peace of Mind’ for Organisations who value their privacy, by giving them complete control and secure communications, to protect their trusted relationships and stay safe. Salt Communications is headquartered in Belfast, N. Ireland, for more information visit our website.