There are certain fundamentals of good business cybersecurity that are designed to protect yours and your clients’ sensitive data. But if you don’t have them in place, it can be costly both in money and reputation.
It’s easy for companies to get caught up in other business priorities besides the security of their network and devices. But, not paying attention to these fundamentals can have a major negative impact on your entire business.
IT infrastructure has become the communication and data gateway that impacts every other part of a business and if there’s a security breach, there’s a number of bad things that can happen, and they can all have a negative impact on your daily business operations.
At ManagedIT we take a holistic approach to small business cybersecurity. We help our clients address multiple threats to their IT assets with a simple and affordable Managed IT Security Plan. Our team is constantly updating and upgrading our clients’ systems to counter every possible threat, both old and new.
In this article, we’re going to discusses the dangers of not being properly protected from online threats to your IT infrastructure, then we’ll go through types of rock-solid cybersecurity solutions that we provide to small businesses to keep them safe, secure, and productive.
What Can Happen if Your Computer Network Isn’t Secure?
Suffering a data breach has become one of the most costly issues that can damage businesses of all sizes both financially and reputation-wise. And as compliance fines for breaches in data security rise, the costs are only getting higher.
The average cost of a data breach for a small business was $117,000 in 2017.
A study by Kaspersky Lab found that small businesses lose an average of $117,000 when a data breach occurs. The two costliest parts of that total are from lost business and costs relating to employing external professionals to fix the aftermath of the breach.
The dangers of not having good IT security for your end point devices, emails, peripherals (like printers & smart TVs), and network are many, and each come with their own set of costs.
Data Compliance Fines
Data privacy regulations like Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) require that companies protect personal data, including credit card details, that they collect and transmit in the course of business.
If a data breach occurs, you could be subject to fines for being out of compliance. PDPA allows for a fine of up to $1 million and has recently fined companies from $5,000 to $50,000 for failure to comply with data security requirements.
Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware is becoming a popular tool for cybercriminals to earn some quick cash. They hack into a small business that doesn’t have proper security and then once in, they lock you out of your own data by encrypting it. They demand a ransom, typically in the thousands of dollars, to give you access back.
Small businesses are a prime target of theirs because they often have less security on their network and may not have a backup and recovery plan in place.
Lost Productivity
It’s all hands on deck when a security breach occurs in your system. Some staff will need to deal with any data loss and trying to recover it, others will need to find out if any sensitive data has been stolen, like bank account logins or customer files.
Many offices end up losing days of productivity due to their office coming to a halt during a cybersecurity incident, and it can take months to fully recover what was lost or stolen.
Missed Sales Opportunities
If your network, emails, and/or website are down due to a virus or other data breach incident, you can be losing Important sales opportunities because your customers and leads can’t reach you. This is business that you may never have the chance to get back.
Damage to Your Reputation
Businesses that have a breach that exposes sensitive customer information, suffer damage to their reputation. People typically become wary of doing business with a company that has had a data breach, because it shows a lack of proper security.
ManagedIT’s Complete IT Security Plan
The good news is that you don’t have to worry about the cost of a data breach incident if you’ve got the proper security fundamentals in place to protect your network and your business.
What are the cybersecurity fundamentals?
We include them in our Managed IT Security Plans for small businesses. Here’s an example of the type of security we put in place to ensure business continuity and help you realize the full potential of your technology assets.
- On-Site VPN Solution
- Dedicated Email Solution
- Network & Remote Backup Solutions
- Business Disaster Recovery Solution
Get a Free, No-Risk IT Security Consultation Today!
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ManagedIT.SG is an IT Support, IT Solutioning and Managed IT Service Provider specializing in serving Small Businesses in Singapore. Call us at +65 6748 8776 and let us manage your Small Business IT today!