12-27-21 | Blog Post
Every September is National Preparedness Month, and although preparing your business should be year-round, many businesses neglect their disaster recovery plans and fail to implement essential cloud solutions that can save them from catastrophic data loss and downtime. So, whether or not you remain under a false pretense that a natural disaster or a cyberattack will never happen to you, any corporation can benefit from taking a close look at their preparedness measures, double-check what practices are instilled and ultimately, ensure everything is safe and sound.
Natural disasters come in many different forms: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and so much more. Many organizations who reside in areas that are prone to natural disasters most likely understand how critical a strong disaster recovery plan is due to their higher risk for damage, however, even instances like snow storms or the average thunder storm that might seem minuscule can weigh heavily on businesses if their data isn’t replicated.
Did you know that 40% of businesses do not recover after a disaster? Like natural disasters, cyberattacks come in many ways and can occur on various platforms. Whether that’s phishing via email, spear-phishing through social media, malvertising or ransomware, cybercriminals are continuing to enhance their threat methods. A ransomware attack now occurs every 11 seconds and can cost a company up to $133,000 with no guarantee that they retrieve their data. The average cost of a data breach in general is a whopping $3.92 million. Unfortunately, even with these staggering numbers, many businesses remain in disbelief that a cybercriminal will not come after them.
So, how do you prepare for a cyberattack? The first step is to eliminate the mentality that a cyberattack will never occur to you. Small to medium-sized businesses are far more prone to cyberattacks because they maintain this mentality, therefore lacking the proper protocols and solutions that protect them from threats. Statistics show that 81% of cyberattacks happen to small and medium-sized businesses, therefore, it’s not a matter of if a cyberattack will happen to you, but when. Preventing cyberthreats also starts with internal communications across your organization.
This means instilling a strong cybersecurity culture in your business. Ensure that different roles are set for different people, that passwords and critical information are only accessible to essential personnel and training your employees to they know how to detect different types of threats. This is especially crucial if your business is operating remotely. The more networks your employees are active on, the more options hackers have.
With how quickly cyberattacks can occur and the possible damage they can do to your organization, Security as a Service (SECaaS) is also imperative to preparing for a cyberattack. Hackers are always going to attempt to infect your network, but Security as a Service (SECaaS) solutions can help to ensure those attempts are not successful. So, how does SECaaS work? It’s an umbrella concept that comes equipped with different services that businesses can select individually based on their needs. It includes Email Security, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Intrusion Detection and Prevention, Identity Management and Vulnerability Protection.
These services all serve a specific purpose, but the gist is that they analyze your network to find suspicious activity and prevent hackers from entering your system. Identity Management includes Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which adds an extra security step, reducing the chances of a hacker entering your network and controlling who can access your laptops and network. While email is one of the main forms of business communication, it’s also a cyberattack haven. Investing in email security helps protect your laptops and network from attacks like phishing, which can then lead to malware.
All cloud solutions serve a significant importance. No matter which solutions work best for your business model, shifting to the cloud is one of the best things you can do for the longevity and protection of your organization. National Preparedness Month is a time to increase awareness surrounding any threat that has potential to harm your company.
