In this era of a new technological age, the adoption of the internet and cloud computing is growing faster than ever. Almost every device that we use to conduct our daily lives – the smartphones, the eBook readers, the wrist watches, TV and music players, etc. are connected to the internet. We record every moment of our lives, and store all the data in the internet. While the majority of these innovations constitute as progress, it also comes with the added risks of security breaches. The greater adoption rates have significantly expanded the attacking surfaces, making cybersecurity as essential as ever. As the technology evolves, so does the sophistication of the methods used by cyber criminals. These changed landscapes have put the business organizations in a critical situation with a lot of things to deal with in ensuring cybersecurity. They need to put precautionary measures in place, remain vigilant to intercept or defend against cyberattacks, and continually evolve to recognize the future attacks. The numbers indicating cyberattack trends also paint a grim picture, showing a renewed emphasis for the matter.
Importance of Cybersecurity backed by Numbers
According to a recent report published by IronNet Cybersecurity, 80% of IT security leaders have confirmed about at least one cybersecurity incident affecting their organizations. The organizations that were hit more than six times, stand at 20%. As a result, organizations all over the world are making cyber-security one of their most important priorities. Governments and other regulatory bodies are also putting a lot of emphasis on the matter, in a holistic drive to minimize the risks of cybercrimes. So, let’s find out the importance of cybersecurity in detail from below.
To Reduce the Costs of Tackling Cybercrimes
In 2017, the global costs of cybercrimes amounted to a massive $600 billion - an increase of $200 billion from the previous average costs. Currently, the average costs of recovering from a cyberattack amount to $5 million, with even a small business incurring a bill of $50,000. To put things into perspective, around 60% of small business have gone out of business due to cyberattacks. The numbers are showing no signs of slowing down, with the costs are estimated to reach $6 Trillion per year by 2021. Therefore, there is no other way but to invest in cybersecurity in order to reduce the costs of cybercrimes, and keep the business afloat.
To Protect the Privacy of Mass People
Over the last couple of years, renowned social media giants like Facebook and Google+ have come under massive scrutiny for the breaches of the massive amounts of user data. While, Facebook had over 540 million of user records exposed, GOOGLE+ had compromised a relatively smaller number of 52.5 million users. With their CEO facing a gruelling congressional hearing, Facebook has incurred a huge loss of trusts among its users; while Google have shut down their social platform altogether. Another internet giant Yahoo! suffered a breach affecting the entirety of its 3 billion users and costed them around $350 million. Data breaches like these are not limited only to the internet service providers. It extends to all kinds of business, social, and financial institutes. For example, financial institutes like First American Corporation and credit rating agency Equifax had experienced a breach of 885 million and 147 million users respectively. These attacks not only exposed personal information, but also jeopardized mortgage paperwork, wire transactions, bank account info, etc.; putting their users in grave dangers. The UK National Health Service (NHS) was shut down temporarily, affecting the country’s entire health care system and costing a huge sum for cleanup. While, these incidents over a short period of time played a vital role in bringing cybersecurity at the forefront of commoner’s discussions, it also had hampered the trusts and slowed down the growth of businesses.
To Comply with the Laws and Regulations
In an enthusiastic drive to protect people from these data breaching incidents, regulators all over the world are imposing new laws and regulations in place. In addition to setting up a new structure of surveillance and reporting, these laws are designed to make businesses responsible for the protection of their data. A failure to comply with these laws may result in huge fines. In 2015, 90% of large businesses declared security breaches, resulting a loss of $1.4 billion in fines alone. In 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union have been revised to increase the fines to an astounding €20 Million or 4% of the annual turnover, whichever is the greatest. The US also has a host of laws and regulations in place in both states and federal levels. These regulations are designed to make cybersecurity measures mandatory for businesses including notifications of data breaching incidents, employment of dedicated data security personnel, continuous employment training programs, reasonable verifications of third-party service providers, etc. In the state of Massachusetts, it also imposes a fine of $5,000 plus other legal and investigative costs for each intentional violation of the laws. Together, these laws and regulations can incur up to $122 billion in fines, putting businesses in major risks of going bankrupt. Therefore, there are no other ways but to comply with the laws and put cybersecurity measures at the forefront of any businesses.
To summarize, as the technology continues to be advanced and implanted in every step of our day-to-day lives; the importance of cybersecurity also continues to rise. Cyberattacks not only put people’s life at risks, but also severely damages the reputation of an organization that may take years to recover. There are also plenty of ramification for any intentional security breaches as well as a failure to implement effective cybersecurity strategies. Luckily, with an appropriate strategy and continuous monitoring, it’s not very difficult to operate a business profitably and ensure consumer security at the same time.