The need to seek the next competitive edge is always at the forefront for any business owner. In today’s digital-centric landscape, one of those competitive advantages comes in the form of cyber security.
Why does cyber security matter?
At a high level, cyber security is sometimes considered a solely defensive investment. Or worse, a reactive investment where businesses simply “wait and see” to test if the measures they’ve put in place to protect themselves, are in fact the right ones.
This is typically the case for small to mid-size businesses, many of which consider the cost of cyber security solutions to be too much, and the chances of being targeted to be too small given their business size. But as we now know, that’s not the case. Accenture’s Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime study shows that 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses, and only 14% are prepared to defend themselves. The potential end result – a significant impact to their bottom line and reputation.
Along with customers becoming more attuned to the impact of cyber security threats to their own data, the business benefits of cyber security start to come into focus. Here at TBTC Northern NSW, we’ve seen first-hand what effective cyber security management can do for businesses, and it’s not just to mitigate risks.
How investing in cyber security can help your business
Here are five ways cyber security could help to set your business apart from the rest.
1. Protect against external threats
The spectrum of cyber threats can feel endless, with most scams primarily launched for financial gain. These attacks are evolving to become more agile, sophisticated, and legitimate.
Thankfully, a robust cyber security business plan that incorporates regularly updated software, can help businesses proactively detect and protect the entry points being exploited like IoT devices, cloud and remote service attacks, fileless attacks, Artificial Intelligence, and supply chain attacks, to name a few.
2. Reduce the risk from internal threats
Arguably, the weakest link in the cyber security chain often comes down to human error. Regardless of whether its accidental, negligent or intentional, insider threats can occur from current or former employees, third party vendors or even trusted partners.
An insider threat can be as simple as an employee clicking on a malicious link in an email that’s gotten through your email vendors firewall, compromising your business’s important data. Additionally, the growth in hybrid work and personal devices being used in remote work settings can help these threats fly under the radar until it’s too late.
Cyber security services and solutions can help you minimise these threats and costly incidents. This is thanks to proactive monitoring of network security and managed access, as well as threat detection and response. Further, providing your team with regular, up-to-date scam awareness education sessions can help turn your people into an extension of your cyber security solution.
3. Satisfy compulsory regulation requirements
In response to an increase in cyber-attacks and the threat of data breaches, many regulatory bodies are setting security standards to help protect businesses and their customers.
For industries that are regulated, having the appropriate security measures in place ticks the relevant compliance boxes. And for the industries that remain unregulated, it acts as a competitive advantage, providing clients with an added layer of security, showing that your business sees security as more than an obligation.
4. Future-proof your business
Viruses and various other cyber-attacks can slow networks and work devices to a crawl, and, in extreme cases, bring business to a complete halt while waiting for the issue to be rectified. By implementing business security functionalities like improved firewalls, virus scanning and automated backups, businesses can reduce the likelihood of future incidents.
It’s also important to weigh up what the cost of a potential attack could have on your business, versus the cost of having preventative measures in place. By mitigating risks, your business is in a much better position to respond, recover and keep existing customers happy in the event that a cyber-attack does occur.
5. Brand trust and reputation
Customer retention is important for any business, so when it comes to cyber security, ensuring your clients’ information stays secure helps to build trust and create a lasting reputation. The shortest path to repeat business and referrals is a loyal customer base, making a robust cyber security environment an important component to help mitigate attacks or breaches and the chance of losing customers to these incidents.
Where to start?
At its core, cyber security is risk management. However, business leaders who see the opportunities beyond preventing data breaches can begin to realise the many other benefits that cyber security can bring to a business if implemented correctly.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive place to start, a cyber security audit provides a solid foundation. By getting an extensive understanding of your business’s current cyber security landscape, we’ll be able to better identify any vulnerabilities or gaps in your security and recommend solutions to fit.
How TBTC Northern NSW can help
Here at TBTC Northern NSW, our Technology Advisors will work side by side with your business to get an understanding of your needs and strategic goals. After conducting a cyber security audit, we’ll make tailored recommendations to help you in investing in cyber security that aligns with the way you operate. That way we can help protect your business and its people now and into the future.
Let’s get securing. Talk to us today.
