We spend more time online than ever before. We use it to stay in touch with friends and family, to shop online and even to run our businesses. As a result, we also store a lot of our personal data online. Whilst this has numerous benefits, cybercrime is the biggest threat to modern businesses, and can result in dangerous data breaches and the loss of large amounts of money.
As a result, you must take cybersecurity seriously.
The most common type of cybercrime that companies have to learn to manage is having data stolen or leaked.
What data can be stolen/leaked?
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information, such as social security and passport numbers)
- Health information (Medical records)
- Government data (Meeting reports, records)
- Images and photographs
- Credit/bank details
What happens when data is breached?
When the above data is breached, it can have serious implications for all of those involved, especially for the owner of the business. For example, in the UK you can face a hefty fine if you have not put the proper procedures in place to take care of data. This can leave you in a tricky situation. Furthermore, data breaches will completely dissolve the relationship of trust you have formed with your customers — meaning you will lose out on future revenue as a result.
Once a breach has occurred, there are several things you need to do.
- Determine what kind of breach occurred, and how it happened
- Contact the individuals who may be affected
- Resolve the issue
- Inform the government and pay a fine
How can I improve my cybersecurity?
Thankfully, there are several things you can do to improve your cybersecurity. You can start with the basics. This means ensuring that all documents and files are stored securely and require a password to enter. As always, your password should be difficult to guess and you should not use the same password more than once, as this makes it much easier for hackers to gain access. Thankfully, there is plenty of advice online that can help you create strong passwords to use in both your personal and professional life.
Furthermore, you should invest in cybersecurity software, which will do a lot of the hard work for you, meaning you can rest easy knowing all of your information is safe and secure. Sometimes, cybersecurity equipment can be expensive — but it is definitely worth the investment and can save you a lot of money in the long run.
However, studies have shown that 4 out of 5 data breaches are the result of human error. This means, quite simply, that employees were not aware of the best practice for data security and made simple mistakes that had potentially catastrophic consequences. One way in which you can combat this issue is by encouraging your employees to sign up for compliance training. The courses provided by BobsBusiness are straightforward and easy to understand, making a complex topic easy to get to grips with.
