Cybersecurity has been front and center in the business community for a while now, but if you think it’s an issue only for individuals who find they’ve been hacked or enterprise companies who would be the target of a massive data breach, you are missing the big picture. Cybercrime is everyone’s problem. From the little mom and pop shops, mid-size businesses looking to grow, governmental organizations and even wholesome non-profits, ESGI wants to ensure every organization is thinking critically about how they are investing their hard-earned resources into a cybersecurity budget. Here’s why.
Difficult to Measure, but Critical to Maintain
Cybersecurity is one of those assets that many businesses don’t appreciate until it’s been lost. Many CEOs feel frustration as their heads of IT request more and more funding to stay on top of the rising tide of cybercrime and security needs. It’s hard to see where all that money really goes, but security is worth the investment. From the Equifax hack to Dropbox, LinkedIn, and however many hundreds of thousands of smaller organizations who have been breached or were the victim of a ransomware attack, cybersecurity was a hot button item big enough to redefine their bottom line. Don’t let misinformation or a misguided sense of stability let you decide to spend less than you need on your digital security investment. The risk may be greater than you know.
Understanding the Risk
Some high profile corporate hacks of the recent past have clearly illustrated what the consequences of not investing sufficient levels of cybersecurity can be. The cost of big data breaches like those suffered by Sony and Target ran up the bill to millions of dollars in lost revenue and response cost. Worse yet, the Sony hack resulted in a prolonged shutdown of services and public exposure of embarrassing emails and even intellectual property theft. The Target hack resulted in a change of the company’s CEO and CIO, and seven board directors were almost shown the door completely due to their failure to protect their customers from the breach.
Big names like LinkedIn and Dropbox have also seen severe consequences of a data breach that had long-lasting and far-reaching impacts for users around the world. These examples have shown us that a lack of preparation and insufficient security can and likely will impact the brand, the company, and leadership as well. For that reason, it makes sense that enterprise companies are taking strides to improve security across the board. If you are not yet invested in your own protection, and that of your employees, you should ask yourself whether you fully understand the risk.
Getting the Right Level of Protection
As hacker technology improves, so too does security technology. We are living in a new age of data-driven and automated computer security defense. Security analytics help identify threats and initiate a response, often before human users even notice there’s been a breach. That support and “always-on” protection is the best way to make sure your company is not exposed.
Find Your Next Cyber Security Contractor with ESGI
At ESGI, our team of recruiters is ready to provide the cybersecurity talent needed for your business. Contact our team today at ESGI to get started!