Top 5 reasons why cybersecurity is important for businesses

Cyber-attacks are now one of the most pressing issues for both large and small-scale businesses. With companies increasingly relying on different technologies, the risk of cyber threats doesn’t seem to stop. Hence, businesses need to understand the importance of cybersecurity.

Basically, cybersecurity is a body of technology, process and practice designed to protect the system from cyber risks such as attacks. It is also referred to as Information Technology (IT) security which plays a vital role in prevention against cyber threats by mitigating damage to a company’s assets via hackers. Maintaining high levels of cybersecurity can help you control your network resources while still achieving business goals without any interference.

So everyone is talking about cybersecurity these days. Let’s understand why cybersecurity is important.

Top 5 reasons why cybersecurity is important

On an average, cybercrimes are costing US$ 4.24 million to organizations, as per a 2021 report by IBM. It is estimated that cybercrime will cost $10.5 trillion in a year by 2025.

Many organizations take their cyber protection lightly and find themselves victims of cyber-attacks. They do not implement even the basic security measures because they don’t seem like necessary investments to them. 

On the other hand, with rapidly evolving technology standards, many organizations around the world today that are cognizant of their cyber protection have used technology to become more immune than ever before.

Here are some prominent reasons why cyber security is important for modern day companies:

1. Increasing cybercrimes

Whether you’re a small or a large company, a cyber-attack can affect you badly. This is because every company has many key assets that any hacker can take advantage of. This could involve the personal information of businesses or customers, or simply financial assets. Recent findings indicate a heightened threat landscape. For instance, in the healthcare sector alone, 88% of organizations experienced an average of 40 cyberattacks in the past year, with the average total cost of a cyberattack nearing $5 million, a significant increase from previous years. This trend emphasizes the ever-growing necessity for robust cybersecurity across all sectors.

2. Use of more IoT devices

The introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) technology has helped us to simplify our tasks but it has also opened us up as a target for hackers. As IoT devices are equipped with different types of sensors and use advanced technologies for constant connectivity and data sharing, they present more surface areas for the data breach. It doesn’t matter how advanced your security measures may be; these internet-connected devices will provide an opening if you don’t manage them properly.

3. Increasing technology usage

We all spend a lot of time with technology, which only means that there’s a booming opportunity for cybercriminals.  Cloud services are booming and so are serverless computing, edge computing, and API services. In combination with container orchestrations like Kubernetes, processes can be efficiently automated and dynamically adapted to various circumstances. Attackers are trying to disrupt this hyper-automation by going after such APIs, which can seriously impact the business processes of a company.

Assess the level of your security today!

4. The deep web and cryptocurrency

The deep web, also widely used as the dark web is a collection of websites that are unidentifiable by search engines and are concealed behind through passwords or other security tools. These websites or pages are only accessed by specialized web browsers, keeping users anonymous.

The dark web is like a hidden compartment where illegal operations can be performed, such as software distribution, personal information distribution, drug and human trafficking, piracy, illegal weapon distribution, and many more unthinkable illegal activities.

Cryptocurrency has also become the attackers’ favourite. With the price of Bitcoin becoming all-time high, attacks are increasing with threat actors following profits. End users have struggled with phishing attacks, infostealers and malware that swap wallet addresses in memory for quite some time. More attacks are now being waged directly against smart contracts —attacking the programs at the heart of cryptocurrencies. These new markets open new opportunities for sophisticated attacks (e.g., flash loan attack), which may allow attackers to drain millions of dollars from cryptocurrency liquidity pools.

These vulnerabilities have increased the importance of cyber security.

5. Evolving ransomware

Ransomware is one of the most profitable cyberattacks at the moment. Ransomware tactics in particular are undergoing a lot of transformation due to the heavy focus of law enforcement as well as the millions of profits that are at stake. Ransomware has affected all environments such as virtual systems, cloud, and OT/IoT. Anything that is connected to a reachable network is a potential target. Stealing data for double extortion as well as disabling security tools will be the new norm soon; but it will also become more personal with insider threats and personal data.

According to FEMA, 25% of businesses don’t reopen after suffering a disaster. So, it is important that we take cybersecurity seriously to save our systems from viruses.

Cybersecurity is a must for the business growth

Cyberthreat is a serious issue that affects everyone. If you are a business owner or any other user on the web, you should take precautions to make yourself cybersecure to keep your information safe from hackers.

Anti-malware and antivirus protections are vital for preventing malicious actors from exploiting your system. As mentioned above, there are various ways in which cybercriminals are attacking businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, and in return demanding ransomware of around $100,000 or more. Advanced cyber protection solutions can provide you with real-time protection using AI/ML technologies to cover all anti-malware, antivirus, and anti-ransomware protection.

A backup and disaster recovery plan is crucial if you want to keep your business safe from  unexpected cybersecurity incidents. Acronis is a trusted backup solution that automatically creates a backup of your data, covering all images or files of your system and not just selected ones. It provides a powerful backup and ensures that your files are available when you need them.

Conclusion

Organizations of all sizes from every industry on earth have been hit by cyberattacks, be it social media giant Facebook or ride-sharing giant Uber.

The continuous development of technology has left all of us vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cybercrime rate is rising year over year, and it is never going to stop. Therefore, without cybersecurity, hackers can steal our information, money, and reputation. There are many ways in which you can protect your business from cyber-attacks, all you need to do is to understand the importance of cyber security and take action! To safeguard your business, get in touch with our team today.