Cybersecurity breaches are continuing to rise. New data from Trellix reports a 31% year-over-year increase in attacks per company on average. And with a lack of qualified cybersecurity professionals in today’s competitive job market, this puts more pressure on businesses to find effective ways to protect themselves. In this blog post, we’ll outline the impacts of a data breach and share how secure digital transport is one of a few straightforward and efficient ways to make your organization resilient to today’s evolving security threats.
The Impacts of a Data Breach
Lost Money
According to the Ponemon Institute’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach is a staggering $4.24M—the highest average total cost recorded in 17 years. The report also found that the average cost was $1.07M higher in breachers where remote work played a role in causing the breach, compared to those where remote work was not a factor. There are several factors behind the cost of a cyberattack that go beyond the initial extortion cost of a ransomware attack. This is a type of attack in which malicious actors use malware to deny a user or organization access to files on their computer and demand a ransom to regain access. But the costs of a data breach are far-reaching, with many hidden factors feeding into greater financial losses down the line.
Downtime & Lost Productivity
In the event of an attack, many businesses regardless of industry or company size struggle to get their operations back up and running quickly. Without access to important files, employees can’t do their jobs and the business can’t run. This is a common reason why organizations pay a ransom in the first place—they simply can’t afford to be down for days or weeks.
Compromised Data
In a data breach, it can be hard to determine which data and how much data was compromised. Whether cyberattackers stole confidential company information or personal health records, it’s crucial to secure your operations and prevent additional data loss. This can involve taking all affected equipment offline, removing improperly posted information from the internet, changing login credentials, and more. Some companies will even hire a data forensics team to determine the scope of the breach.
Tarnished Reputation
According to a Forbes Insight report, 46% of organizations suffered reputational damage as a result of a data breach. Customers often lose trust in a brand after a breach and with the advent of social media and online reviews, bad news travels fast. All of this can lead to churn and difficulty engaging new customers. That’s why an organization’s response and communication following a data breach can make a huge impact on restoring the public’s trust.
Legal Exposure
Following a data breach, businesses oftentimes need to follow legal requirements. All of the states in America as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have legislations that require the notification of security breaches involving personal information. There are further requirements if the breach involves electronic personal health records. It’s important for organizations to follow these requirements to avoid costly fines or class action litigation.
Make Your Organization More Resilient
The wide-spread impact of a security breach may make protecting your business seem daunting, but there are a couple simple ways to secure your data that we’ll share.
Phishing Awareness
A phishing attack is when a cyberattacker sends fraudulent communications that appear to come from a reputable source, such as a manager or coworker. It is usually performed through email. The cyberattacker’s goal is to steal sensitive data such as credit card and login information or to install malware on the victim’s machine. Phishing is a common type of cyber attack that everyone in your organization should be aware of. Every employee should know how to check the sender of an email and to look at any URL or attachment before clicking. And if they see something suspicious, they should know who to notify, such as IT, so the organization can stay ahead of these attacks.
Password Vigilance
One of the best ways to protect information is to ensure that only authorized people have access to it, and being vigilant about passwords is a great way to do so. Since many systems and services have been successfully breached because of inadequate passwords, passwords should be complex and confidential. Avoid common mistakes such as basing passwords on easy-to-remember personal information or using the same password for everything. Consider developing mnemonics to help remember complex passwords, or even use a password manager to securely keep track of them.
Secure Digital Transport
The right file transfer system can protect your business and customers from cyber attacks. All businesses transfer computer files through communication channels from computer system to computer system, which is why this exchange of data can’t have any opportunities that cybercriminals can take advantage of. To meet their file transfer requirements, a company might choose several different technologies. A business might have one “solution” to send files internally, another for sharing with customers, and yet another for obtaining e-signatures. However, multiple “solutions” can entail multiple security risks and organizations need to ensure that each vendor meets all of the different data security compliance requirements and regulations.
The Botdoc Way
Manual file transfers are outdated for today’s security needs. With these impractical methods, data has to go through multiple checkpoints to get to the end-user, increasing the risk of a compliance violation. Botdoc is the first ever easy, remote, and secure file transport service that works via text messaging and email with end-to-end encryption. Our API automatically moves data to the appropriate area within your system of record, limiting the touchpoints of data. Botdoc even automatically purges documents after a certain amount of time, decreasing the risk and time spent purging documents manually. Our solution is always simple to use because the consumer experience is everything to us. With Botdoc, you’ll close transactions at least 50% faster with no pins, no passwords, no logins, no accounts, no apps, and no software to download—all while having peace of mind. To get started today, simply schedule a demo and we’ll discuss how the secure “FedEx” of data can help you better manage your bottom line.