UPDATED: The chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 960,000 but when it comes to experiencing a data breach, the odds are as high as 1 in 4, according to research. What’s worse? The cost per data breach is on the rise as well. Studies have found that the size of these inevitable cyber-attacks are increasing as much as 2.2% every year. Which at first glance doesn’t sound all that bad until you understand the average cost of a data breach is around $4 million USD. Moving deeper into a digitized society, organizations will need to grasp that when it comes to experiencing a data breach, the question is not if it will happen, but when.
Driving Down the Costs of a Cyber-Attack
Recent regulations around cybersecurity on a global front have helped to require companies to have firm processes in place for cyber-attacks. Something as obvious as improving response time with the right plan in place can do wonders for your company’s finances and reputation. By streamlining breach procedures, companies who are able to identify and contain a breach in less than 30 days saved on average $1 million USD as compared to those that could not contain breaches fast enough.
The good news is that organizations can take measures to minimize cost and impact. The bad news is that cybercrime costs are quickly trending up as companies are slow to adopt these practices. Data suggests that cybercrime will cost businesses over $2 trillion total this year.
As we’ve identified, having an incident response plan in place can help protect your business from the ashes. However, cybersecurity is not a one-person or even one-team job. Information Technology and Cyber Security departments that work together can form a wonderful checks and balances relationship for your company.
Steps to Mitigate the Breach Damage
There are lots of factors that contribute to a cyber attacks high likeliness. For instance, there are 230,000 new malware samples appearing every day. But here are a few things your organization can employ to reduce your chances of an attack and greatly improve your odds of a speedy recovery.
- Reduce Response Time: The more quickly you can identify what’s happened, what the attacker has access to, and how to contain and remove that access, the more successful you will be.
- Have a Team Devoted to Security: In the event of a breach, an experienced team of incident response experts can help you quickly identify and contain the attack, and minimize costly delays. And while Cyber Security pros are few, you still need to have security skilled professionals aboard.
- Train Your ENTIRE Team: Take the reins of employee cyber education. If you want your workforce to block and respond to security bypasses, we must teach them what approaches to take and how to detect any malicious activity,
- Updated Tech and Tools: Now that we’ve established how important your people are in saving your business from an attack, they need to be properly equipped. Have a devoted team member that is an expert in Threat Intelligence, someone who understands what new practices hackers are employing and how to defend against them. Looking at tools such as the data breach calculator will also help to understand your industry, location and cost factors in the event of a security incident.
To keep your company from becoming a statistic, your company must make cybersecurity a priority. Understanding the cyber terminology, threats and opportunities is critical for every person in every business across all industries. Cybint offers high-quality education and training for businesses, higher education, and government agencies. Learn more today at www.cybintsolutions.com.
