Page 45 - Cyber Defense eMagazine - November 2017

Add this together and it amounts to more than $1.83 million. With such exorbitant costs, it’s
easy to see why 60 percent of all SMBs inevitably go out of business. Often a single cyber-
attack is a deathblow from which they never recover.
Operating in the Danger Zone

Here’s the problem. Even though most companies are at least somewhat aware of the growing
threat of cyber-attacks, not much is being done about it.

President and Co-founder of CSID, Joe Ross explains that 58 percent of companies have
expressed concern, but a staggering 51 percent have failed to allocate any budget into
mitigating cyber security risks.

He also reports that only:
• 38 percent of small businesses regularly upgrade their software solutions

• 31 percent monitor business credit reports
• 22 percent encrypt databases

This disconnect creates a tremendous amount of risk where it’s not a matter of if but when a
crisis occurs. Way too many organisations are ill-prepared for the increasing number of cyber-
attacks that are happening each and every day.

The FBI even listed the number of ransomware attacks to be 4,000 per day in 2016 – a 300
percent increase from the 1,000 in 2015. If this trend continues, countless businesses will
experience the backlash.

The Consequences of a Reactive Approach

There are a variety of reasons why companies are reluctant to invest time and resources into
cyber security. It could be a limited budget, a lack of knowledge, a false sense of security or a
combination of these factors.
Some companies even operate under the assumption that these types of things happen to other
businesses, but it won’t happen to them. Regardless of the reasoning, a reactive approach is a
recipe for disaster.

One scenario could involve your organisation becoming the victim of ransomware where an
attacker hijacks your data and demands compensation for it. Without paying up, your operations
come to a screeching halt, and your revenue plummets overnight.

Another would be having sensitive customer or employee information fall into the wrong hands.
This can lead to everything from identify theft to corporate espionage. Even basic information,
like email addresses, phone numbers and billing addresses can be of significant value to cyber
criminals and open a can of worms.

You also have to consider the level of disruption that comes along with an attack. Not only does
downtime cost your business serious money, it can tarnish your brand reputation, and many
customers may end up turning to competitors. Hardly anyone wants to risk their own security
and privacy by doing business with a company with inadequate security protocol.
It’s a bad deal all around. If your organisation isn’t taking proper cyber security measures, it’s
something you’ll want to address right away. You’ll want to make the transition from being
reactive to proactive.

45 Cyber Defense eMagazine – November 2017 Edition
Copyright © 2017, Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide.