Importance of Cyber Security for Businesses

In the recent years, one of the most noticeable disruption caused by Covid-19 is that it has impelled businesses to veer towards computerized system and rely more on technology. The pandemic has encouraged and made it a necessity for them to carry out operations from the comfort of their homes. With the rise of work from home jobs, companies are becoming prone and vulnerable to external threats in the form of cybercrime, hacking, phishing attacks and data theft. Thus, cybersecurity has become a prerequisite feature that all companies must have before fully operating and running their businesses.

Companies store large amounts of data in their systems, networks or data warehouses. This data is not only valuable but contains highly sensitive information which can be subjected to malicious activities from outsiders. So cyber security acts as a protective barrier against theft or damage. If you do not have a cyber security strategy or highly experienced engineers then you cannot shield your company from such notorious threats and activities. Many companies are shifting toward convenient and alternative methods such as cloud storage (Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive etc.) to store their data as a backup, but they fail to secure this data from cyber attackers who continue to intrude into your information storage devices.

What is Cyber Security?

In simple words, cyber security refers to all the processes and strategies implemented by companies in order to protect their highly sensitive and confidential information from cyber-criminals and data breach. Therefore, it is vital for companies to not only invest in technology but also in latest cyber security tools and programs. Such attacks can impinge a company’s growth, can cause financial downturns, harm its reputation, decrease its productivity and ultimately dwindle your business.

To prevent your business from falling into the trap of cyber attackers, there are few precautionary measures they should take:

Train your workforce: The first and the foremost thing that companies should do is to educate employees through cyber security training. Your IT engineers and security professionals are responsible for the Information Security and they must remain alert and watchful at all times. Apart from that:

·      A comprehensive training programs should be initiated, highlighting individuals’ role in protecting the company’s valuable data.

·       Awareness regarding cyber etiquettes should be given.

·       They should know how their actions might instigate attackers.

·     They should be given directions on how they can detect and deal with such threats while performing their daily task etc.

Make use of technology: By enforcing Privileged Access Management strategy companies can safeguard identities by controlling accounts that have systems access. By granting limited access to the employees based on their roles, the internal and external threats from attackers can be minimized.

Timely detection of a cyber-attack: Organizations have to be vigilant 24/7 and should keep a check on their networks and systems to make sure there are no suspicious activities taking place. Through cybersecurity monitoring, you can detect and combat a cyber-attack. However, if there is a slight delay then you might face dire consequences and might not be able to stop intrusion or respond to breachers immediately. 

Combating risks from other sources: There are risks associated with members who are directly or indirectly related to your business such as vendors, suppliers or other third parties. They have access to your systems and might pose a threat to your financial, operational or customer related data. While dealing with them, make sure you are adhering to your information security policies.

All in all, a multi layered cyber security system has become a need for all small and large businesses. They cannot solely rely on simple defense tactics such as anti-virus soft wares to save themselves from cyber criminals, because they are picking up pace in break barriers that hinder them from gaining access to your confidential information.