Sometimes, it seems like our lives are completely playing out online. From business contracts and banking to shopping, taxes, and health care – many processes are streamlined to give us instant access to whatever we want or need.
We want the ease of checking emails, making appointments, ordering groceries, and even doing business deals from wherever we are. Whether in an office, working from home, or sipping coconut juice on the beach – the internet has unchained us from typical work environments.
However, with the enormous community of the hackersphere – what does that mean for our day to day lives?
Forgoing cyber security for businesses these days means leaving yourself vulnerable to a world of hackers looking to profit off of your hard work. If you wouldn’t gladly hand over your savings to some thief on the street, how would you feel about allowing a total stranger to take everything you have?
Probably not great.
And if you consider the amount of work that has gone into building your business, the idea of someone taking that from under you feels soul crushing. This is why cyber security in business is so important.
What Kind Of Businesses Need Cyber Security?
Here’s the deal – unless you are off the grid, you need cyber security for your business. Plus, several industries require specific cyber security compliance measures to protect consumers.
Aside from cash-only lemonade stands, all businesses today rely on cyber security. Protect your livelihood by outsourcing your IT needs to Brooks IT Services. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business thrive.
Financial Services
Not all hackers’ motivations stem from financial gain, but a whole lot of them certainly are motivated by money.
According to Business Insider, “Cyber threats are 300 times as likely to target the broader financial services industry as companies in other sectors.”
Despite being among the most heavily regulated industries when it comes to cyber security compliance, financial institutions still find themselves underprepared.
Additionally, the penalties for non-compliance are harsh and could easily put a smaller financial firm out of business. Moreover, the clients whose financial well-being relies on financial firms are at the greatest risk.
Government Agencies
When you consider the huge amount of data stored by government agencies, it’s no wonder why they take great measures with cyber security.
From fingerprints, social security numbers, tax information to nuclear codes and other state secrets, we put a lot of trust into agencies with this information.
Even with cyber security protocols, the government still fields threats from a range of hackers. There are the curious ones looking to stir up chaos and the foreign state sponsored groups looking to take the United States down a notch.
Health Care
Every person in the health care industry holds the massive weight of protecting patients’ sensitive information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was created to protect sensitive health information from being disclosed without a patient’s consent.
As technology continues to expand, compliance regulations continue to strengthen. And this is for a good reason. Even if a health care worker is unintentionally responsible for leaking a patient’s private information – the health care worker would still be held accountable.
To protect health care business owners, employees, and patients – IT compliance regulations must be followed.
Manufacturing
According to Cybersecurity Insiders, a study by Deloitte states, “Companies involved in manufacturing business are said to be more exposed to cyber attacks.”
In fact, 40% of manufacturing firms experience a cyber attack once a year. A whopping 38% of those firms lost over $1 million in damages due to the attack.
The top 6 cyber risks in manufacturing include:
- Board and executive management
- Talent and human capital
- Intellectual property
- Industrial control systems
- Connected product
- Industrial ecosystem
Considering the long wait on supplies due to supply chain issues, manufacturing firms can’t afford the repercussions of cyber attacks.
Retail
For people who love convenience, the days of shopping in stores have greatly slowed down. Because if you can have anything you want delivered to your door, why not take advantage of that?
The issue with more and more companies taking their retail online is the greater risk to both the business and its consumers. And these days, cyber attacks are only getting more sophisticated.
However, companies can better protect themselves and their consumers by putting protocols in place. For instance, adding Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to your platform not only lets customers know you take their security seriously but also offers increased protection.
How Does Cyber Security Help Businesses?
As a business owner, you need cyber security to protect your financial investment, sweat equity, and livelihood. Otherwise, what’s the point of the late nights, missed family moments, and hard work you’ve been putting in?
If you don’t have professional cyber security measures in place, it’s a matter of when, not if, a hacker will find you. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to the hackersphere. Contact BITS today to learn what IT services and solutions we can provide for your business.
Return On Investment (ROI)
Not many phrases cause business owners’ ears to perk up like ROI. While you may have started your business to ease consumer stress, provide quality products, or even change the world – you’re not going to get very far without making a return on your investment.
Quality cyber security greatly reduces the risk of losing money to downtime, stolen funds, ransomware, and more.
Privacy
One thing is for certain – your professional reputation matters. With so much of our world being online, consider the private data you count on remaining private. This could be your family’s private information, photos, bank accounts, home security, and more.
Proprietary Information
You created your business to share your products or services with your target audience. They purchase from you what they may not be able to acquire from another business. This is why protecting your proprietary information is so important. Your trade secrets are what keep your business afloat.
Professional Reputation
Circling back to your professional reputation, your data is just as important as your consumers. An insecure network could lead to you leaking their personal information, as well as your own.
One data breach could lose the trust of your clientele. Without paying customers, what business will you have left to protect?
Avoid risking it all to save a little because it may leave you with nothing.
Protect Your Small Business With Brooks IT Services
Your business is what keeps your kids in extracurricular activities, food on the table, and a roof over your family’s head.
Every small business owner knows the work that goes into running a company. From partnerships and employee training to providing products and services – the to-list seems never ending.
If you’re not an IT expert yourself, attempting DIY cyber security becomes a full-time job in itself. Brooks IT Services works with business owners in the Houston area to provide IT solutions and services so you can get back to running your business. Contact BITS today to get started.