No business wants to be the victim of a cyber attack, but it is an unfortunate truth that businesses of all sizes are at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals. If you do fall prey to an attack, the cost to your company could be severe, as you may face loss of income, a damaged reputation and even legal ramifications. As well as implementing a robust security strategy in order to stay safe, it’s also vital for businesses to avoid becoming complacent, and to never assume that they are not at risk.
You can further minimise the impact of an attack by preparing for it before it happens and this is something all business should do to stay on guard. Experts from Syntax IT Support London explain why good preparation is your best defence.
Preventative security measures are not a guarantee of safety
All businesses should have intelligent preventative security measures in place to protect their assets and sensitive data against an attack, but this provides no guarantee that your company will not be impacted at some point. For many organisations a cyber attack is inevitable, and with threats constantly evolving and the number of incidents increasing, we must expect that security measures will eventually fail.
Instead of focusing on whether a security incident will occur, put your time and effort into concentrating on how you could better identify and resolve them should they happen. In IT security, mitigation has just as big a part to play as prevention.
It prevents a panic
Developing a strong incident response strategy means that should a cyber attack occur, you’ll be much better prepared to deal with it. Training your people now rather than after an incident means you’ll save time in the critical moments following an attack and will be able to respond efficiently and effectively.
Adequate preparation will ensure that you are able to detect what has happened, are aware of what the most critical assets in your business are and have a clear process in place to proceed with. The appropriate team will understand what their roles are and can get to work right away on resolving issues and managing the consequences, rather than panicking about the gravity of the situation.
It could save your business
Ultimately, good preparation could be the difference between being able to continue trading and not. Many small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyber attack, which is largely down to the high costs of a data breach and the amount of downtime caused. Unless you have money to fall back on or a great cyber security insurance plan, your losses may be too great to come back from. Preparing for an attack in advance can minimise disruption as well as losses, as your team will be able to respond and recover more quickly.
It can save you money
Taking the appropriate measures in advance of a data breach can save you a lot of money and minimise the risk to your business should a security incident occur. Intelligent operational response strategies recognise that detection, response and prediction each have a vital part to play in the protection of organisations, with traditional prevention methods alone being inadequate against the persistent and advanced attacks we are facing today.
Preparation can be costly in itself, but implementing the right tools and strategies is a real investment in the future of your business. Solutions such as remote data backup and security information and event management (SIEM) systems may seem expensive now, but they will more than pay for themselves further down the line and cost significantly less than the recovery expenses involved in a security breach.
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