Adapting data security best practices may sound too costly for your small business, but, in reality, being digitally secure can boost your earnings.
Now more than ever, online privacy and security are essential for all companies. Cyber attacks on businesses are rising exponentially and becoming ever-more sophisticated.
This year, it is estimated that the total loss to businesses as a result of cybercrime will be over $5 trillion. This is an all-time-high that will affect businesses of every shape and size.
That’s why adopting data security best practices right now is crucial. Before you fall victim to a potentially ruinous cyber-attack.
Not only will doing so keep yourself, your employees, and your customers safe, but it will also boost your bottom line. Here’s how.
1. Reduced Chance of Losses from Cyber-Crime
One of the most obvious ways that professional data security companies can help to boost your profits is that the actual chance of losing money from a cyber-attack will be greatly reduced. If your security perimeter is breached and your customer or financial information is stolen by bad actors, you’ll have the obvious loss of money, but also clearly customers will be less inclined to do business with you in the future, so impact on your brand and reputation can have much larger and harder to estimate impacts on your business.
Ransomware and phishing tactics have successfully stolen countless billions of dollars from businesses. If thorough data security practices are in place, it becomes less likely that cyber thieves will be able to siphon away your dollars.
Physical security measures are crucial, including making sure that your employees have solid passwords, VPNs, and so forth. It’s also essential that they protect the data that can be seen on their screens from prying eyes on airplanes or working remotely.
Another key consideration is ensuring rock-solid digital identity measures are in place, so you can be sure that people who are calling or engaging with your business digitally are who they say they are. Are you relying on usernames and passwords? Or flimsy data that can be easily stolen like a birthday or account number? That’s not going to cut it – fraudsters can get that information in seconds on the dark web, and your business could be at serious risk.
2. Data Security Best Practices Mean Greater Innovation
A full 71% of CEOs believe that poor data security is impeding the innovation of their company. Without a contemporary, equipped cybersecurity architecture, your business will always be one step behind your better-prepared competitors.
Cybersecurity breaches of any kind require resources to fix. This can often have the effect of stifling innovation and slowing down future growth. Not only that, but consider the risk your business has in losing confidential information about roadmaps, innovations, future plans or customer data lakes.
Innovation is crucial for long-term profitability, and that intellectual property must be protected by strong digital identity and cyber security tools that will allow your staff to spend their time innovating ways to grow revenue and serve your customers.
3. Faster Recovery Time in the Event of an Attack
You don’t need to be a digital surveillance expert to know that the consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be devastating for your business.
If you are hit by a major data breach or theft, it could be enough to knock your business out for months.
However, if you have an up-to-date security architecture and a knowledgable team, then you will be able to bounce back quicker than you could possibly expect.
Resilience and adaptability will boost your bottom line, especially when it comes to data security.
4. No Lost Business as a Result of Reputational Damage
As countless surveys on consumer identity have shown, privacy concerns are at the top of many customers’ lists. If you fall victim to a particularly damaging security breach, the reputational costs could far outweigh the monetary cost of the attack.
If your business developers a reputation among clients and customers as being insecure, then you will hemorrhage business and money.
However, if you adopt comprehensive data security best practices, you stand a better chance of attracting paying customers, rather than losing them.
5. Happier, Safer, More Confident Employees
Finally, it’s worth pointing out the potential for data security to enhance the happiness and productivity of your most important asset – your employees.
If your employees are confident that the work they are doing is safe and secure, they will be more confident in the job that they perform.
This could save you countless dollars in turnover costs, as comfortable, safe, confident workers are always more likely to stay put.
Learn More Today
Adopting data security best practices is best achieved with the help of qualified experts.
Do you want to learn more about empowering your business and your team with data security best practices? If so, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our qualified staff today.
