Nov 10, 2014 | SMB Technology
A new report from the Ponemon Institute, an organization that publishes the annual “Global Report on the Cost of Cyber Crime,” recently announced that the cost of a data breach has jumped 23% from last year. Here’s what your small to medium sized business needs to know about being prepared in case of a data breach. The Data Breach by the Numbers The report revealed that a data breach will cost a large company about $640,000. This price tag includes hefty costs, such as business disruption, information loss, and detection. The report also revealed that it takes a company an average of 31 days to recover, yet experts advise that the time to remediate from a breach should only be less than one week. Interestingly, small organizations have a higher per-capita cost than large organizations. So, what can your business do to be more prepared? Have a Data Breach Incident Response Plan An Incident Response is an organized approach to responding to and managing the aftermath of a security breach or attack. The goal of such a plan is to limit damage and reduce recovery time and costs. An Incident Recovery plan should include a clear-cut definition of what your company constitutes as an incident and a subsequent step-by-step process that should be followed carefully after an incident occurs. Consider Hiring an Information Security Firm If you contact an Information Security firm after a data breach occurs, your organization will have to pay more money and wait longer to recover. You may not be prepared to remediate and respond in time. Knowing who to call helps your organization avoid...
Jul 23, 2013 | SMB Technology
Cyber Attacks are in the news again. Last week domain registrar Network Solutions suffered a denial of service attempt impacting the websites of their customers. Cyber attacks like this are high profile and always in the news. This raises the questions, are small business vulnerable to cyber attacks? Small business are Targets of Cyber Attacks Cyber Attacks are as likely, or more likely to occur on small businesses. Cyber attackers know small businesses may have less protection, thus making them easier targets for cyber attacks. Larger companies may have entire departments dedicated to cyber security. Harder to hack and quicker to detect, larger organizations may be tougher to penetrate and exploit with a cyber attack. Meanwhile, small businesses may have less protection against a cyber attack, leaving them more exposed and less likely to detect a cyber attack. Small Businesses may be Less Resilient from Cyber Threats Larger organizations not only are likely to respond quicker to a cyber attack, but have stronger brands and deeper pockets to withstand the impact of a cyber attack. When a cyber attack occurs there may be financial penalties for non compliance with industry regulations (e.g. PCI regulations). What’s more, the impact of a cyber attack may also cause loss of brand equity as a result of the negative publicity related to a cyber threat. In most cases a cyber attack may be too much for a small business to recover. How do I Protect my Business from a Cyber Attack? Consider contacting your IT Service & Support specialist to conduct an IT security assessment. By performing an IT Security assessment you will...
