Stories about large corporations getting hacked seem to arise more and more frequently. While headlines mainly focus on large brands, A study by Symantec found that 43% of cyber attacks occur at small businesses. As a mid-size business, you are more susceptible to cyber attacks than large companies.
Why?
Because you may lack the staff power to constantly check for security holes or the software to keep your sensitive information safe. However, when you break down the many costs inherent with a breach, you may find it’s worth shifting priorities. Simply, you can’t afford not to protect your small or medium-sized business.
The average cost of a cyber attack on your business can well exceed $2.2 million, according to a report by the Ponemon Institute. Of this $2.2 million, business disruption accounts for about half. Business disruption includes temporary store closing and loss of online sales. Other side effects can include other organizations’ unwillingness to partner with you, the loss of time and money spent salvaging the data, and the cost of improving security measures.
The cost can increase when an organization is forced to hire outside IT help. The lesson here is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Hiring IT professionals before a data breach can help you mitigate the costs of a future data breach.
Did you know that you could be held legally liable if third-party data is compromised in a breach? The United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the EU’s GDPR place responsibility on organizations to appoint third parties who can have sufficient guarantees that the requirements of NIST 800-171 and GDPR will be met.
This means that if you are using a third party and their system is compromised you will be responsible for Regulatory fines. In 2015, Anthem, Inc, the national insurance provider, had a cyber breach of 80 million current and former US customers and employees. They were ultimately fined $115 million as a result of their negligence to provide adequate and timely notice.
Ashley Madison, the risque dating service site, had a data breach in 2016 which ultimately exposed 36 million accounts. They were fined $11.2 million for their poor security and deceptive business practices.
Unfortunately, standard insurance policies do not currently cover cyber-risk. You can look into cyber insurance which is specifically designed to cover cyber breaches and attacks.
The Poneman Cost of Data Breach study found that the United States post-breach response costs averages about $225; making it one of the highest in the world. While the global average isn’t that far off at $141. The cost to repair the damage to a company database includes remediating a company database and immediate response costs.
We believe that technology solutions should be tailored to the customer, which is how we’re able to offer best-in-class technical knowledge and solutions for your business. Keep things secure with IT solutions from Emerge. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.