Why IT Security Is a Top Priority for Every Business No Matter Its Size

Featured article by Andre Smith, Internet Marketing and E-Commerce specialist

The days of being able to keep all of your files under lock and key are long gone. Everything is created and kept digitally now and, as our communications and records creation get modernized so, too, must a business’s security efforts. It isn’t enough to simply have your own internal server anymore, now that everything is online all the time.

Making security even more important is the cloud. The cloud has made virtual work and telecommuting much simpler and the number of companies who transition to virtual servers and storage grows every day. At the same time, storing important data virtually leaves your company vulnerable to attack. Proving security compliance with Internet software is important, says Trend Micro, for ROI and overall performance. But just how bad is a security breach, really?

Security Breaches Cost Money

Let’s start with the factor that is most important to the health of your company: your money. Every time someone breaches your security it costs you money. You spend money on professionals who come in to close whatever back door or trojan horse the hackers used to access your system. You pay to restore whatever information may have been stolen. Depending on the depth and scope of the attack, you may have to pay for new equipment.

And that doesn’t even begin to touch the amount of money you lose because, after clients learn of your breach, many of them will jump ship and transfer their business to a competitor.

The best example of this is the Target breach of 2013. The data breach that hit Target during the holiday season “helped drag down its fourth quarter profits to 46%.”  That’s a 54% drop in profits from the previous year. Can you afford to lose more than half of your profits? Of course not!

Security Breaches Cost Confidence

Moving hand in hand with profit loss is the loss of your clients’ confidence. You promised them that their data would be kept safe but you failed to live up to that promise. It won’t matter that you know you did everything you could to keep the hackers out. All your clients are concerned about is that their data was compromised. This news doesn’t just affect your current clients who, as we already mentioned, will likely take their business elsewhere to a company that hasn’t (yet) had a security breach.

It will also affect your reputation with potential future clients who look into your company history to decide whether or not to do business with you. 50% of consumers polled by Software Advice, a review company that compares security software, said that if they found out that personal information were compromised in a company’s security breach they would never trust that company ever again. Harsh? Yes. Understandable? Absolutely.

How to Prevent Security Breaches

It is important that you not wait for a breach to happen before you improve your security measures. One of the best ways to figure out where your weak spots are is to hire a security expert to try to get into your system and then fix what she tells you to fix. Pay attention to people who notify you of weak spots or problem areas. Do your best to create an impenetrable brick wall of security around your company.

Don’t limit your security measures to just your servers. We’ve already mentioned that you must also secure your cloud. It is also vital that you secure every machine that has access to your servers or cloud.

If you do get breached, it is important to act swiftly and to be as transparent as possible with your clients and customers. Keeping them in the loop as you fix the holes and restore data will help restore confidence in your ability to keep them safe.

Andre Smith is an Internet, Marketing and E-Commerce specialist with several years of experience in the industry. He has watched as the world of online business has grown and adapted to new technologies, and he has made it his mission to help keep businesses informed and up to date.