Security Breaches 101: How Much Does Human Error Actually Cost You?

There is absolutely no doubt that cyber-security has become more than important in today’s business environment. Now more than ever it is absolutely crucial to make sure your company data is safely stored.

According to studies published in 2014, cybercrime costs the world no less than 445 billion annually. That is a staggering number regardless of how you look at it – and, as a business owner, you definitely don’t want to become part of that statistic.

The worst part about cybercrime is that it can infiltrate your company in numerous ways. For example, hacker-generated cyber-attacks are among the most common ways your company data can be stolen. However, employee errors are not to be disregarded either. As a matter of fact, they constitute one of the most important and commonly encountered risks when it comes to cyber-attacks.

How can these sort of mistakes cost a company? And even more importantly, what can you do to avoid such things from happening? Read on to find out!

The Cost of Imprudence

Being reckless is one thing – but being reckless when so many other employees depend on you is completely different. In business, bad moves can cost you money, time and, ultimately, your company’s credibility. Thus, it is essential that you always make sure that both you and your employees know exactly what risks cyber-attacks bring with them.

According to a study published in 2015 by the Ponemon Institute, the total loss generated by data breaches was of no less than $6.5 million in 2014 in the U.S. (which is 11% more than what was recorded one year earlier, in 2013). For every stolen record, companies lost on average approximately $217 – which is a huge price to pay, especially considering the fact that losing just one record is highly unlikely, especially when the data breach is the result of a cyber-attack.

According to the same aforementioned study, almost 50% of the data breaches were connected to malicious attacks and 19% were generated by human negligence. All in all, it would seem that employee errors were not that significant in terms of how much loss they generated. Yet, if you do the math, it becomes clear that these mistakes really do make a difference.

Beyond financial losses, cybercrime poses serious long-term risks as well – especially when considering the loss of trustworthiness and the bad reputation associated with data loss. In the end, losing your clients’ data will not only make you lose money, but it will eventually make you lose their trust and your company’s good reputation as well.

What Is There to Do?

Cyber-attacks are a very serious danger that has to be addressed by all businesses – large and small alike. Regardless of what industry you work in, your business must be prepared to face a variety of online attacks.

Of course, protecting your company’s computers with antiviruses is recommended. But keep in mind that it is not everything you can do to avoid the damages of cybercrime. Here are some other important measures you can take:

• Educate yourself and your employees. Training employees to work in a safer way will not cost you a lot of money – but it can pay off in the eventuality of an attack. Teach your employees how to store data, how to navigate the Internet safely, and how to make sure they never allow any kind of information to slip outside of confined, secured servers.
• Be very aware of the techniques cybercriminals use to infiltrate company data. From malware installed via malicious links sent in the email or on Social Media, to sophisticated phishing and pharming techniques, there’s a myriad of ways they can gain access to your confidential information. And their ways are getting more and more elaborated with every day that goes by – so it’s essential that both you and your employees are up-to-date when it comes to these cyber-risks.
• If you allow employees to bring their own devices to work, remember to create a sustainable policy that covers security aspects as well. This way, your employees’ personal devices will be much less likely to cause a privacy breach in your company’s computers.
• Only use software that is 100% secure – and this doesn’t just apply to antiviruses. From the OS you run on your computers to the software your employees use to perform their tasks, everything has to be safe.
• If you have remote employees, make sure they only use remote software that is truly secure. For instance, if your employees provide remote support for your customers (or if your employees themselves are provided with remote support), make sure the software you use for this is created with security as a top-priority. According to ProxyNetworks, encryption and double authentication are extremely important, so make sure you keep them in mind when selecting your remote support software application.

In Conclusion

In 2014, Kaspersky and the Interpol detected no less than 175,442 malicious software applications developed with the sole purpose of hacking into computers and stealing the personal information stored on them. With numbers as impressive as these, it would be a great mistake not to pay attention to the way in which your company is fully secured in the online world.

Even more, it would be an equally great mistake not to pay attention to your employees and how they make sure privacy breaches are as unlikely as possible. In an era where information is the most costly asset there is, your personal and company data needs to be safe from all outside threats.