According to Statista’s Market Insights, the cost of cybercrime is expected to increase from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to $13.82 trillion in 2028. This expense can be devastating to small to medium sized businesses already trying to recover from a successful cyberattack. With new cyber threats emerging everyday and the cost to recover from them rising, it’s important for SMBs to have strong cybersecurity services in place to prevent these disasters from happening. Continue reading to learn just how important cybersecurity services are to modern businesses.
Cybercrime is on the Rise
As the cost of cyberattacks grow, it’s no wonder more and more businesses are investing in cybersecurity services. Aside from a successful cyberattack costing your business hundreds of thousands of dollars, it can also ruin your reputation. Instead of risking severe downtime or even permanent closure, businesses are investing more and more in robust cybersecurity services aimed at preventing cybercriminals from stealing their data. And since new cyber threats are emerging every day, it’s important for businesses to keep their cybersecurity measures up to date so they can defend themselves. For example, according to the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, phishing continues to be the most common cyberattack. Meanwhile, ransomware has increased by almost 10% since 2022, putting businesses in further financial danger. Luckily, these types of cyberattacks can be stopped by training employees on what to look out for and who to contact when they suspect a cybercriminal is trying to target them.
Remote Work Creates Vulnerability
Remote and hybrid work has exploded in the past few years and continues to become more and more popular. While convenient, remote work also requires strong cybersecurity services to protect your business. When working remotely, employees may be accessing their business networks or devices from their homes, cafes, airports, and other unsecured connections. Open networks can be easily hacked by cybercriminals who use them to spread their malware to users’ devices and steal data.
Not only does remote work make it easier for cybercriminals to break into your system, but it can also encourage a relaxed attitude toward cybersecurity in employees since they don’t have the same in-office security measures in place. You must make it clear that just because employees are working remotely, that doesn’t mean that in-office cybersecurity measures go away. Cybersecurity services like regular training and monitoring software should be used to help staff members better protect their data. By training them on common signs of cyberattacks, proper network security, and how to manage sensitive information when in and out of office, businesses decrease the chances of a successful data breach.
Best Cybersecurity Practices for Remote Work
If you have employees that work remotely, there are steps you can take to ensure the safety of your business’ data without forcing people to be in the office:
- Require regular cybersecurity training for all employees
- Use a password manager
- Use multi-factor authentication
- Utilize firewalls and VPNs to secure devices on other networks
- Implement data encryption
Cloud Computing Risks
Technology is constantly evolving, and unfortunately cybercriminals are evolving with it to steal your data. For example, cloud computing has become an important part of many businesses, especially those with remote workers. Its increased storage capacity and easy file sharing capabilities make cloud computing vital for many businesses, but it’s not without its risks. Cloud computing provides more access points for cybercriminals to hack into. Therefore, cloud specific cybersecurity services are a must to monitor these tools for any suspicious activity and stop a cyberattack before it becomes a full-on data breach.
The Pros and Cons of AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another piece of technology that poses many benefits and threats to businesses. For example, there is growing concern over the privacy of AI systems due to the large amounts of personal data users provide them with. If a cybercriminal were to hack into an AI system, they could gain access to any imported sensitive information. Cybercriminals are also using this new technology to improve their social engineering attacks. Deepfakes in particular are becoming more and more convincing thanks to AI, tricking victims into giving up their data to a seemingly trustworthy source. AI can also create and automate malware, giving cybercriminals the ability to crunch out cyberattacks at an alarming rate.
AI isn’t going away anytime soon, so it’s important for everyone in your business to understand how to safely use it. For example, never put personal information like names, emails, or client data in an AI tool. If the AI is hacked, all that information is revealed to the cybercriminals. Additionally, just as cybercriminals use AI to strengthen their attacks, you can also use it to improve your cybersecurity services. Start by automating AI in your threat detection and response system. This will enable AI to not only identify threats but also analyze data from secure users and previous cyberattacks to determine any patterns. Instead of waiting for the next cyber threat to strike, AI gives you the power to stop them before they can act.
Growing Legal Requirements
Cybersecurity services aren’t just beneficial to businesses; they are starting to be legally required. The federal government has certain regulations for specific industries to follow to ensure that their sensitive data is adequately protected. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) imposes strict cybersecurity requirements on healthcare providers. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) mandates that all financial institutions protect private data and make their information sharing practices transparent to ensure everything is above board. And all federal agencies must adhere to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which makes sure they have the proper cybersecurity services in place to protect their information.
Non-compliance with these or any other legal regulations could result in hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational loss. For example, in 2019, the consumer credit reporting agency Equifax had to pay $575 million as part of their settlement with the FTC for a 2017 data breach. Equifax failed to use the proper cybersecurity services to protect their network and it cost them millions of dollars in fines and recovery efforts.
Cybersecurity Services FAQs
Without proper protection, your business is vulnerable to data theft, ransomware, financial loss, reputational damage, and even legal liability. A single breach could shut your business down for good.
It costs a lot less to prevent a cyberattack than to recover from one. Whereas a cyberattack could cost your business millions of dollars, many cybersecurity services offer a subscription plan so you can easily plan your budget.
Strategy IT helps you meet industry-specific standards by auditing your systems, patching vulnerabilities, and documenting processes to ensure you’re protected and compliant.
Yes. Tools like firewalls, VPNs, endpoint protection, and access controls ensure your data is safe, no matter where your employees are using it from.
Antivirus is only one layer of a strong cybersecurity system. Many modern threats can bypass basic defenses like firewalls, so it’s important to have a full cybersecurity strategy that includes monitoring, endpoint protection, and employee training.
Every business is different, but there are basic cybersecurity services everyone needs to stay secure, like:
- Firewalls
- Patch management
- 24/7 monitoring
- Phishing protection
- Employee cybersecurity training
- Secure backups
- Incident response planning
At least once a quarter, but ideally monthly. New cyber threats are emerging every day, and your systems need to keep up.
Ensure your cybersecurity team uses advanced email filtering, multi-factor authentication, and simulated phishing tests to train your employees.
Ransomware locks your files away and demands payment to get them back. However, paying this ransom is not a guarantee you’ll get your data back. Use endpoint detection, backup systems, and real-time monitoring to help identify and block suspicious activity to prevent ransomware in the first place.
- Notify your IT team immediately.
- Do not delete anything or try to fix the issue yourself.
- Disconnect affected devices from the network.
- Do not power down your devices unless you are unable to disconnect them from the network.
Learn How to Protect Your Business
Professional cybersecurity services are vital to keeping your business safe from the growing number of cyber threats. However, you should not rely on outside help alone. Your staff is the first line of defense against cyberattacks and system malfunctions, so it’s important that they all know what to watch out for to resolve issues as soon as possible. Sign up for our free e-course to receive weekly tips on how to improve your business’ cybersecurity measures.
