7 REASONS WHY YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION NEEDS TO BE SECURE
If you think you have to be a Fortune 500 company to be an attractive target for hackers, think again. According to a 2015 survey conducted by Duke University and CFO Magazine, more than 80 percent of U.S. companies have experienced a data breach. In fact, that same survey found that the problem is actually the worst among small- and medium-size firms because they devote the fewest resources to securing their data and communications.
The information you send and receive daily at your business has all types of sensitive data, from client information to sales projections. Securing your business communication will help make sure those sensitive details don’t fall into the wrong hands.
1. Downplaying Security Will Cost You
IT security and secure business messaging is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. Still, that attitude has yet to take hold among business owners who end up paying the exorbitant cost of a data breach as a result. According to research conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the average global cost of a data breach in 2017 was $3.62 million. Per record with sensitive or confidential information, the cost of a breach was $141. Finally, the study found that the average size of a breach was 24,000 records, a 1.8 percent increase from 2016.
2. Data Breaches Damage Your Brand
Research reveals that brand loyalty can be affected if unsecured communication within your business results in a breach that compromises sensitive customer information. A survey conducted by a Holland digital security company in 2015 found that data breaches affect more than only the customers affected by the problems; data breaches affect your entire customer base.
Specifically, the survey found that 64 percent of consumers said they would be unlikely to do business with a company again if a breach had involved compromised financial information. About half said the same about a breach that involved personal identifying information.
In the same survey, 95 percent of consumers also said they would sue or would consider suing the parties responsible for compromising their personal information. And taking legal action against companies over data breaches is now easier for consumers thanks to a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allowed the victims of the Neiman Marcus breach to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the retailer.
3. Security Snafus Affect Sales
One of the largest data breaches in recent history happened to Target’s customers in 2013, and the company’s sales suffered severely as a result. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Target’s sales declined 46 percent year over year. Additionally, Target’s stock price declined by 10 percent after the breach. Internet retailer eBay saw a similar effect after its data breach in mid-2014 when it also saw a sharp decline in user activity that hurt its net revenue for that quarter.
4. Unsecured Communication Compromises Proprietary Information
While your customers’ information is valuable, that information is only one small part of the data that travels across your business channels every day. More than likely, your employees also communicate with proprietary information over electronic media, information that you wouldn’t want falling into competitors’ hands. For example, your employees email or instant message one another about your upcoming sales projections based on the rollout of a new product or ad campaign. Would you want a competitor knowing about that campaign in advance through intercepted messages?
The consequences would be even worse for more sensitive information. For example, once your intellectual property (IP) gets compromised, you can’t unring that bell, so to speak. Items such as patents or trade secrets are kept confidential because once they’re known to the public at large, they lose their value. Securing your communication can help you protect your IP, vendor contracts and information, employee salary information, strategic plans, and more
5. Breaches Increase Your Audit Risk
A data breach, especially if it compromises your customers’ personal or financial information, will most likely alert government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The purpose of these agencies is to make sure that businesses comply with data security regulations. When a breach occurs, the problem is usually due to some negligence on the part of a business to comply with these guidelines and regulations designed to protect consumers.
At a minimum, you may face fines from these agencies if your company is found not to be in compliance. Long term, though, you also are likely to be audited by the same agencies for compliance. If you are found to have fallen short with your data security, these agencies may require you to submit to regular audits to prove your compliance going forward.
6. Lost Productivity Can Result From Handling Data Security Issues
If hackers obtain sensitive information that your employees have communicated in messaging channels, they could use the information to shut down your network, your server, or your website. At the very least, their actions can hurt productivity until your IT team can get your systems up and running again. In the case of your website, especially if you use your site for sales, the impact could mean a substantial amount of lost revenue for your business. Restoring a website after an attack is a time-intensive and costly process, and you’ll be losing business during that time.
7. Cybervandalism Can Impact Your Business Communication Outlets
The types of information that get casually shared among employees every day can give cyberattackers the information they need to access your business website and social media pages. One type of attack that can be especially damaging to your company’s reputation is known as cybervandalism, or the planting of false information by hackers who hijack the public communication outlets for your business. A hacker may place negative or false claims on your homepage, for example, or post misleading or offensive comments from your account on your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media pages.
When you compare securing your business communication against the prohibitive costs of a data breach, the cost of securing your business communication is a small price to pay for peace of mind. By doing so, you’ll not only be protecting your customers’ information, but also your company’s valuable business strategies, reputation, and brand.
Originally published at www.forsta.io.
