Is Cyber Security One Of The Most Important Assets?

By Business

Given the growing size and scale of the digital world, new cyber security risks emerge practically every minute. For businesses, this is concerning. It means that they have to develop systems that continually counteract the threats that they face. If things go wrong, the financial and reputational costs can be tremendous. Thus cybersecurity – if done right – is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. 

The statistics on cybersecurity attacks and breaches paint a scary picture. 43 percent of businesses now suffer cyber attacks every year. And around 20 percent of charities are targeted by organized online hackers and criminals. 

Despite these profound risks, about four out of every ten businesses don’t have a cybersecurity policy in place to mitigate the risk. And that’s leading to some unwanted and unfortunate consequences. 

Cybersecurity Protects Businesses’ Most Important Assets

The laws of economics are changing. In the past, capital was scarce and so it dictated the market value of a company. It’s one of the reasons why oil firms and automakers were so valuable fifty years ago. 

But that’s no longer true. Today’s most valuable companies command large market caps because of the data they control. Google and Facebook are two excellent examples. Aside from some servers and a few campuses, neither of these companies uses many capital goods. Instead, their value comes from their enormous troves of data. 

Cybersecurity, therefore, is essential for protecting what makes modern companies valuable – their data. Firms that can maintain the integrity of their IT systems put themselves at an advantage against their rivals. 

Cybersecurity Enhances Governance

Cybersecurity is also vital for effective governance of modern organizations. Companies need to keep track and control how people use their digital resources. If they don’t, then it could potentially lead to compliance issues and litigation. 

Fortunately, there are voluntary frameworks already available designed to help companies improve their cybersecurity from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. These are designed to help firms identify, protect and detect potential intrusions, while responding and recovering in an intelligent manner to a successful attack. 

Businesses should use an IT company in Boston to assist them if they do not have the requisite in-house skills. Experienced firms can improve governance in a matter of days. 

Cybersecurity Prevents Downtime

Malicious software and external attacks can lead to severe business downtime. Companies can find themselves unable to operate for days at a time following a successful breach. 

However, a proper cybersecurity policy offers a holistic approach to prevent attacks and minimize the damage if they are successful. Here’s what that entails: 

  • Training employees not to respond to phishing emails
  • Using anti-malware and spyware apps to find malicious software on company computers
  • Firewalls to stop unauthorized packets of information from entering your network
  • Monitoring to manually search for potential security issues. 

Conclusion

In summary, cybersecurity is one of the most important, if not the most important, business asset. By protecting your systems, you ensure that your most valuable asset – your data – remains intact. So if your business needs cybersecurity experts who can protect your assets, then you may consider getting help from a professional Cyber security staffing agency.