The Importance of Cyber Security in Business

It should go without saying that in an ever-growing digital world, cybersecurity is a vital aspect of running a business. Whether it’s for data protection, network protection or device protection, some degree of security will be required. And yet, despite that, the importance of cyber security for small businesses remains to be an often avoided if not outright ignored topic. It’s easy to say, “This could never happen to me,” especially if your business is small and such, not an obvious target. But therein lies the problem, because that’s exactly what makes you the perfect target. Now, at home – the stakes aren’t very high – a firewall and VPN might be all you need. These options are very effective and there are many cost-effective options for the average homeowner. However, in the realm of business, with much higher stakes, cyber security requires far more delicate care, where the risks are a major loss in profit margins, reduction in business integrity and most importantly, potential business collapse. With all this in mind, I write this article to expound upon the following: how cyber security works and the risks of a cyberattack.

For cybersecurity to work effectively, a cybersecurity specialist must first analyse your data, to evaluate it for malicious activity. If anything is flagged up, it will be attended to. Once the analysis is complete the specialist will categorise the preexisting security of your data systems and develop further measures to increase the security. Of course, cybersecurity is complicated computer science and doesn’t necessarily work in just one way. A cybersecurity specialist might work in system administration, from a helpdesk, or just as a part of IT support. Moreover, it’s not just reactive, but can also be preventative and recuperative. The Frequently Asked Questions of Synoptek does a great job of outlining the different types of cybersecurity, as well as the potential threats towards them. Application security protects web and mobile software, from ‘unauthorised access, data breaches, injection attacks (such as SQL injection), denial of service (DoS) attacks, and more.’ (Synoptek) Cloud security protects cloud-based computing processes from ‘unauthorised access, data breaches, data loss, and service disruptions.’(Synoptek) Data security protects digital information from storage devices to servers from ‘corruption, theft, or unauthorised access.’ (Synoptek) Mobile security protects mobile devices from ‘spam, phishing, ransomware, theft, misuse, etc.’ (Synoptek) Network security protects computer networks, often in the form of firewalls and encryption from ‘various security threats and unauthorised access.’(Synoptek) There are also concerns about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR is the regulation behind a business's protection of personal data; names, birthdates, addresses et cetera. It is the legal responsibility of every business to protect this. The law will not be sympathetic if GDPR is breached. To prevent a breach then, cybersecurity is a requirement.

‘60% of small and mid-sized businesses suffered at least one cyberattack,’ (Devolutions) so said the results of a Devolutions survey and report for 2022-2023. The results speak for themselves. This should be horrifying. Not just because of how numerous the results suggest that they are, but also how few businesses are protected. Now, of course, as a Canadian business, surveying Canadian businesses, one might think that the results do not reflect the circumstances of their own country. One would be wrong in this line of thinking. In a government survey carried out in winter 2022/23, the British government concluded that ‘32% of businesses and 24% of charities overall’ (GOV.UK)  experienced a cyberattack in the last twelve months. Just one of these attacks alone was estimated to ‘cost each business, of any size, an average of approximately £1,100. For medium and large businesses, this was approximately £4,960. For charities, it was approximately £530.’ (GOV.UK) These losses from one attack for a big business might not be something to worry about, but for a small business, this could be crippling, especially if they become repetitive. If one attack costs £1,000 then ten attacks would cost £10,000 and so on. If you’ve been attacked once, the likelihood of being attacked again only increases and as the attacks increase, so then do your profits decrease. Of course, finances, notwithstanding, there are other areas to consider. For instance, brand reputation and trust. Cyberattacks can cause delays in a business, resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, customer’s data being leaked could lead to them receiving personalised phishing campaigns or even getting their identity stolen depending on the level of data confidentiality. The client rightfully wouldn’t be happy and will likely never be able to trust your business again. Both of these things will result in a bad reputation, as well as legal implications.

That’s why at EchoSploit we are committed to providing top cyber security solutions so that you don’t have to face the digital world alone! Let the experts do their job and let yourself rake in the profits. Stay safe. Stay secure.

- Written By; Ryan Sadler, May 30th 2024

Bibliography:

Synoptek, How Does Cybersecurity Work?, Frequently Asked Questions, <https://synoptek.com/about-us/faq/how-does-cybersecurity-work> [accessed 30 May 2024]

Devolutions, CYBERSECURITY IN SMBS in 2022-2023, online report, 12 October 2022, < https://cdndevolutions.blob.core.windows.net/documents/survey-report/survey-report-2022-2023.pdf > [accessed 30 May 2024]

GOV.UK, Cyber security breaches survey 2023, online report,  19 April 2023, < https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023 > [accessed 30 May 2024]