Bharat Bhise HNA analyst and expert in the field of cybersecurity gave a speech at a tech convention which I visited last week. Bharat was speaking specifically about the number of small businesses who aren’t protected with cybersecurity software, and the importance of having solid security software in place. I was astonished by the incredibly low percentage of small business which have cybersecurity in place, and the high volume of owners who don’t have it or who have outdated software.
I got to thinking about the reasons as to why so many business owners wouldn’t look to secure themselves in this way, and these are the myths which I think that many believe when considering investing cybersecurity.
Failure to Understand
I certainly think that there is a large percentage of business owners who just don’t understand the risks that are posed by cyberattacks. To clear this up, the damage can be untold and it can involve theft of information, massive damage to the reputation of the business, a ruined online reputation and lost finances as a result of the attack. Any company which uses computers or operates online must ensure that they are secured.
Too Expensive
I also believe that many business owners will look at the cost of software and decide that it is just too expensive for them. I understand that small businesses must be incredible frugal with their capital but in this case you have to think about the big picture. High level security software may cost around $100-200 per year for the business, perhaps slightly more for larger companies. The cost of an attack to a small business could easily register in the thousands and when you consider that, it is vital that you understand the need for security software. When you compare the two costs you can see that making the choice to buy software is certainly the best idea in terms of cost effectiveness. There is further damage which an attack can cause which can’t be given a figure and that is the damage to the reputation once customers learn that they can’t trust your business.
Already Have It
When Bharat talked about the number of business owners who have outdated software it dawned on me that a great many of these owners probably think that they only need to buy and install the software once. The reason why having outdated software is dangerous is because every time that software is created to protect your systems, the hackers and cybercriminals are working on ways to get around it. This game of cat and mouse goes on every year and there are only so many updates which a security provider can perform to keep you secure, before they need to build anew suite entirely. This is why having the 2016 suite in 2019 is tantamount to not having any cybersecurity at all.
Make sure that you have software in place and that it is up to date for maximum protection.
