Introduction
If you run a business, it’s likely that your company has been targeted by hackers. In fact, studies show that more than half of all attacks today come from cyber criminals looking for easy money or valuable information. But the good news is that there are many ways to protect against these attacks if you know what to look out for and how to prepare yourself for the worst. Here's our guide on how best to stay safe:
Understand your business - what makes you unique?
The first step to creating a better security plan is understanding your business. This can be challenging, especially if you don't have a formal IT department. It's important to establish what makes your company unique and vulnerable so that you can create a better security plan for it.
For example, if one of the things that makes your company different than others is its location—in this case, maybe because it's on top of an active volcano—you should consider hiring someone who specializes in volcanology so they can help assess potential threats from lava flows or other natural disasters (such as earthquakes). If there are no such experts available at first glance, ask around internally: does anyone know anything about volcanoes? How often do we hear news stories about earthquakes around here? What steps should we take next time something like this happens (if anything)? These questions will help give insight into how best protect against natural disasters while still giving customers access service whenever possible."
Get a clear understanding of the threats you're facing.
Once you have a clear understanding of what's at risk, it's time to get serious about protecting yourself and your business.
First things first: understand the threats that are coming from outside as well as within. If your organization is an attractive target for cyber criminals because it has high-value data or intellectual property (IP), then they'll be on your radar regardless of any security measures you put in place—and they will find ways around them. That means knowing not only what kind of attacks might occur but also how those attacks might work against your company and its processes.
Next step: assess how vulnerable each part of your infrastructure is by looking at both internal controls (such as policies) and external factors such as public cloud providers or third parties with access to sensitive information like financials or customer data/profiles
What is the cost of an attack on your company?
When you think about the cost of a cyber attack, you might wonder if it's worth the risk. The answer is yes—but there are also many reasons why an organization should be proactive in its approach.
The cost of a cyber attack can include:
Loss of data (and potential loss of revenue)
Loss of customers who may no longer trust your company and choose not to do business with you again after being compromised by hackers or other malicious actors
Reputation damage from negative publicity and public shaming on social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook
What would happen if your customers were hacked?
If your customers are hacked, they will lose trust in you and your products. They might be angry, embarrassed, or reluctant to use your products or services again. Customers might even sue you for damages if they feel that their privacy has been violated.
If cyber attacks happen often enough and cause significant damage to the company's reputation, it may also affect its ability to attract new business: potential customers will think twice before dealing with a company whose reputation is tarnished by cyber attacks!
Build a security review into the future of your business.
Cyber security reviews are one of the best ways to ensure that your business is protected against threats. They can help you identify vulnerabilities in your system and make sure they're being patched, but there are other benefits too.
When you have a cyber security review in place, it's easier for employees at all levels of your organization (from CEO down) to understand what goes into keeping customers secure—and why someone should care about doing so. This will help everyone be more responsible with their digital lives because they'll know how important their actions are when dealing with sensitive data like credit card numbers or passwords.
You can mitigate cyber attacks by learning from others who have been attacked before you.
You can mitigate cyber attacks by learning from others who have been attacked before you.
It's important to learn from others who have been attacked before you. You may be able to prevent the same thing from happening to yourself or your organization by reading about it and/or implementing their experiences into your own plans for prevention and recovery following an attack.
Conclusion
Cyber attacks are inevitable. However, knowing how to mitigate an attack before it happens will help you stay ahead of the game and protect your business from the threat of downtime.
Nazarov Kakhramon. Offbox Solutions