When news of a major cyberattack against a large company catches wind, it gets most, if not all, of the attention. But what about smaller companies that fall prey to cyberattacks? Small businesses are, in fact, big targets for cyber criminals as one in five small companies fall victim to a cyberattack of some kind. Of those victims, nearly 60 percent go out of business within six months. What’s more, data is showing that most small operations in general don’t have a cybersecurity response plan in place when it comes to cyberattacks.
Hackers are finding new ways to infiltrate networks and adapt to new security protocols. When this happens, money is lost, data is stolen, customers are rightfully upset, and reputations are ruined, resulting in lasting effects down the road for a company of any size.
So, what can a small, medium, or large business do? Here’s a look at what businesses should know about cybersecurity heading into the second quarter of 2020.
Cybersecurity Spending
Fear has a way of causing major panic among business owners and customers alike. But in this case, it’s a good thing as most companies are planning to increase their cybersecurity budgets and increase their resources when it comes to preventing or responding to a cyber threat. One way this can be done is through more sophisticated cybersecurity network measures, and another is to invest in better business cyber insurance.
This program can help to provide the tools and resources needed to take care of legal issues if claims are made against a company following a breach and can even help with patching up network security systems so hackers have a harder time climbing back in.
Automation Will See A Greater Need
The average office workplace is seeing a transformation to be more automated and streamlined. The wide range of web applications that combine several web services are difficult to secure, and automation as well as integration solutions are becoming a need in order to reduce the workload on teams that are understaffed.
A New Approach to Cloud Security
While storing information in the cloud, like through Microsoft or Google, can be secure, hackers are still finding ways to get the information they really want. The truth is the data that is stored in cloud applications are not protected from attacks built from the inside-out, such as those related to human error, sync errors, or phishing.
As more businesses move their data to the cloud, they’ll start to focus more on cyber criminals and the different ways they can try to nab data.
More Issues with Mobile Devices
While it’s great to be able to access information and work on the go through mobile devices, they are also opening the door to more potential human errors and cybercrime. The number of mobile users continues to climb and so does the level of business data stored in them. This makes it more than lucrative for hackers to break in and override traditional secure email gateways.
These gateways are programmed to block phishing emails for protecting company emails on someone’s phone or tablet, not personal emails that are accessed on the same device. Once a hacker gets into someone’s personal device, they have access to their business information.
About American Team Managers Insurance Services
Founded in 1998 by Chris C. Michaels, American Team Managers Insurance Services (ATM) has provided wholesale and MGA services to more than 5,000 independent insurance agents throughout the United States. Our goal is to establish close, long-term relationships with our agency partners and insurance carriers and provide competitive products for the Exclusive and Non-Exclusive markets that we serve. For more information on our products and services, give us a call at (877) 671-7503 to speak to a representative.