It’s impossible in today’s economy for a successful business to not have an electronic footprint. An Internet presence or central database is often essential to the continued prosperity and comes with its own risks. The main risk comes in the form of cybercrime, the act of exploiting security vulnerabilities to steal information, data, or money.

As such, Cybersecurity should be a guaranteed expense for any business looking to make sure they’re not vulnerable online. Cybersecurity is the act of having various processes, practices, and technologies in place to ensure any of your business’s networks, data, programs, and devices are protected from attack and/or extortion.

Here are some reasons why a little Cybersecurity 101 is essential in making sure your business isn’t at risk.

A Cybersecurity Breach Costs Money

This may be obvious, but a breach in Cybersecurity can cost a business a lot of money. In 2017 McAfee estimated Cybercrime costs the global economy an estimated $600 billion, and new technologies/threats mean this number is likely to rise. A data breach can cost a company essential time and money to detect the breach and to remedy it, and to retrieve any possible capital stolen as a direct result. As well as this, a breach in cybersecurity can also severely damage a company’s reputation. This may cause current customers to lose trust in the business and move to another. A reputation for lack of cybersecurity can make it harder to secure new customers in the future.

Tighter Regulations Require An Increase In Cybersecurity

If your business is a part of Europe, your cybersecurity protocols must be according to GDPR guidelines. The General Data Protection Regulations were introduced to the EU to force companies to take better care of their personal data. They require the implementation of protection measures and at least a basic level of cybersecurity.

Cyber Attackers Are Getting More Sophisticated

If you have a business, you most likely have an entry point for a hacker to access our internal network. Whether that’s a website, an email address, or a hosted server, it’s safe to assume that a business will experience an attempted breach at some point. While technological advances benefit us, they can also benefit those trying to access your data, so it’s important to keep up to date with the latest cybersecurity measures to ensure you can detect and respond to any malicious activity.

Hackers also have access to a wider range of tools than ever before when it comes to mining for your data. Cybercrime has become commercialized to the point where anyone with an Internet connection and ill intent can cause a data breach. Whether it’s email phishing or malicious malware, it’s important to ensure you have protocols in place for all manner of cybercrime.

Vulnerable Devices Are Becoming More Commonplace

The Internet is a hacker’s primary way of accessing your data, and modern technology has grown to the point where everyone has a device that’s WiFi-enabled. Whether it’s your phone, tablet, or computer, anything that can connect to the Internet is a potential gateway for someone to access your information. Whilst these devices contain some anti-malware programs, they still have a large range of weaknesses that hackers can exploit. Having a cybersecurity protocol on your devices makes sure your business is safe no matter what device you work on and allows you to assess any future risks these devices may present regularly.

For these reasons, you must invest in Cybersecurity for your business as soon as possible.