Whether you’re running a small business, a large company, or even a charitable or community organisation, cybersecurity is something that you have to take very seriously. Large corporations already acknowledge the threat and will typically consult with a professional cybersecurity consulting provider in Australia. This blog will explain why businesses and organisations of all sizes with any online presence should be doing the same.

1. Data Protection

Just about every modern business that maintains an online and/or digital presence has piles of customer and client data sitting in storage. That data can’t just be erased because you need it both for effective marketing and communications. Storing it online is great because it’s more easily accessed by you, as well as better organised, and not having to have a home or office filled with boxes of index cards with customer info is pretty great.

The trouble of course is that all customer data is vulnerable to cyberattack. It’s not just companies, either, but also government and other public institutions. While no physical harm is done, such loss of data represents other kinds of damaging security risks, including identity theft and total loss of privacy.

2. No One is Safe

You might have always assumed that only government bodies and possibly banks and large financial institutions were at risk, but you were wrong. Businesses of all sizes, as well as charities, NGOs and other organisations are all under threat of cyberattack. The most alarming is that the worst cyber attacks are frequently state sponsored, or at least the evidence points that way.

Countries like Russia, China, and North Korea have long been accused of state-sponsored hacking of other countries, in particular the US. In recent years, deteriorating relations between Australia and China have seen an increase in apparent China-sourced cyberattacks on Australia’s economy and government. The fact is, no one at all is immune or safe from this problem.

3. Potentially Crippling

Another common misconception about cyberattacks is that they are usually technically elaborate and mind-bending. In fact, many attacks are extremely straightforward, and yet it is often these simple attacks that are the most devastating. Whether the effects of a cyber attack impact just one individual, a multitude of citizens, or countless businesses, banks, hospitals, charities and others, the impacts are never anything short of horrific.

An individual might have their identity stolen, their credit score ruined, their savings drained or their reputations tarnished for good. Companies and organisations lose the data of their customer base, all of which might go into the hands of unscrupulous characters within foreign governments, or sold to malware companies, and worse.

4. You Must Protect Your IP

Another big target of cyberattacks is often intellectual property. Potentially lucrative designs and industrial information is stolen and then often put to use directly by overseas competition, or simply sold to governments or others who want the technology to try and undercut the original producers. Proper cybersecurity put in place will actively protect one’s IP.

5. Business is Increasingly Connected to the Online Space

Cybersecurity matters because virtually no business or organisation can escape from the need to be in the online space. So much marketing is now conducted via social media platforms, and communication is now most frequently digital communication rather than direct phone calls, so it’s emails, direct messages through the website or company social media accounts, and so on.

In this digitally connected world, there is no room for a space free from robust and meaningful cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is an Invaluable Expense

Cybersecurity is one area where some businesses and organisations struggle. They feel they can’t afford some security solutions and so decide to chance it and see how they do. Unlike other things they will invest in like social media marketing, for instance, installation of cybersecurity is simply an expense that doesn’t produce any meaningful upward bump in the bottom line.

It’s critical to remember that cybersecurity is like insurance - it’s an expense you can’t afford not to make. The financial benefits come in the longer term from your lack of losses!