The Critical Need For Businesses to Invest in Cybersecurity is now more than before

Cybersecurity is limitless because no matter how secure you think you might be, hackers are forever working on breaching every new security system. 2018 saw quite a few massive breaches of top companies wherein personal information of millions of people around the globe was compromised. When data breaches occur, companies tend to lose existing and new customers, clients, and vendors or at least make them apprehensive about using their site or app. The time has come where it is simply imperative that businesses invest in cybersecurity on a larger scale.

The most common cybersecurity attacks originate from spam, malware, and viruses leading to information leaks, identity theft, or even destruction of data or devices. But a considerable amount of data breaches come from voluntary sharing of personal information by people who are not aware of the dangers of cyber predators.

Why should a business invest in cybersecurity?

Whether it’s B2B or B2C, cybersecurity is important to protect the personal data collected by the company regarding customers. When running a business, sensitive data would be shared between the company and its clients and vendors. And for companies with complex operations, cybersecurity plays an even more important role.

Cybersecurity is not just for banks and financial institutions. Though companies may not require such a high level of security, an adequate level needs to be maintained. However, e-commerce platforms need to be more wary of fraudsters. As transactions are carried out on the site, with many sites offering to store credit card or debit card information, such confidential data must be protected as the company will be responsible for any breach.

A business should ideally take care of three main things: protecting critical assets, monitoring threats and keeping track of changes to the risk profile.

How should a business invest in cybersecurity?

When it comes to investing in cybersecurity, businesses must choose the possible avenues of investment wisely. Here is how a business can efficiently invest in cybersecurity:

1. Select a Promising Security Vendor:

Investing your resources in a well-to-do security service provider for services like network diagnostics, vulnerability assessment, pentesting, and creation of mitigation pipelines can go a long way for your business. This will also save your existing workforce from the added workload and having security experts by your side at all times is surely going to prove beneficial against rising threat levels.

2. Invest in Quality Security Software:

Amidst rising cybersecurity threats, one of the safest options is to go for a trusted antivirus or anti-malware software and save your IT department from any unpleasant surprises thrown at them by the hackers. With the advent of SaaS solutions and cloud, getting these security products would also be cheaper as compared to the traditional solutions. 

3. Invest in Mobile Application Security:

Often neglected, the security of mobile apps is much more critical to the overall business performance than expected. A smart choice would be to look out for the best software solutions which provide wholesome mobile security features like frameworks for secure data transfer, API security, malware detection, firewalls, etc. In the long run, such an investment is bound to bring compounded opportunities for your business. 

4. Focus on Employee Training:

All your efforts towards bolstering your business’s cybersecurity front are going to bear fruit only if your employees understand the seriousness of the situation as you do. That is why it is essential to initiate a suitable cybersecurity awareness program and train the employees regarding all the details related to cybersecurity. It will not only impart them with the required knowledge, but they will also understand their own responsibility when it comes to safeguarding the core asset of the business, i.e. information.

5. Stick to Compliances and Regulations All the Time:

The current cybersecurity regulations have cleared any doubts that business leaders in their minds in the past. It’s not an option, but a necessity. And if you don’t understand the seriousness of these regulations, the authorities will make sure that you pay the required penalties and learn the lessons the hard way. That is why you must invest in resources that make sure your business is always compliant with all the cybersecurity regulations at all times.

Where does cybersecurity currently stand in the market?

A study conducted by Comparitech showed that Japan topped the list among the world’s most cyber-secure countries, while some of the least cyber secure countries included Algeria, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Tanzania. Even the most secure countries could do with some significant improvements to their current cybersecurity measures.

2018 was a record year for cybersecurity investment. Investors dumped heavy amounts of money into U.S. cybersecurity as well as other countries like China, the U.K., and Israel. Strategic Cyber Ventures reported that average deal sizes and venture capital investments involving cybersecurity firms both reached record highs last year.

Such high investments could be attributed to venture capital markets being flushed with funds along with the cybersecurity market seeing money from huge funds that were formed over the years.

It was also noted that Cybersecurity businesses with IPOs in 2018 did considerably better than businesses in 2017. Mergers and acquisitions activity in the cybersecurity space was also strong in 2018.

It’s safe to say that cybersecurity problems aren’t going away. 2019 is likely to see massive high-profile breaches just like 2018. But businesses need to continue to do all they can to protect their confidential information and protect the interests of their customers as well. Over and above, you should invest in cybersecurity to protect your company’s future and your brand.

Recent Cybersecurity Breaches

The critical need for investment in cybersecurity can be gauged from this fact that despite being a year plagued with severe wildfires and one of the deadliest pandemics ever (COVID-19), 2020 still saw some of the most notorious data breaches.

 250 million Records of Microsoft Breached in January: Around 250 million Microsoft records were stolen from the tech giant’s internal databases including IP addresses and email IDsid’s.

 Details of Thousands Cannabis Users Exposed in the US: Personally Identifiable Information of around 30,000 cannabis users (for medical and recreational purposes) was leaked over AWS servers.

 440 Million Estée Lauder Records Breached: Millions of company records of the renowned fashion brand, Estée Lauder, were breached in February this year.

 T-Mobile Data Breach: Sensitive customer and employee information of T-Mobile including phone numbers, addresses, and email ids were stolen by the cybercriminals in March this year.

 Marriott Information Breach: Around 5.2 million guest records of Marriott customers, including names, phone numbers, loyalty program details, and other travel information was stolen by hackers.