We live in an age where business benefits from huge technological advancement. This affects our ability to communicate, organize, and manufacture, along with just about every other facet of the business. But it also confers a degree of risk, which businesses of a previous age didn’t have to contend with.
It was impossible, or at least very difficult, for a malicious third party to access a printed document from a locked filing cabinet. But the digital equivalent of that document, stored on a networked machine, is vulnerable.
If a business is to use technology, then they’re well advised to consider the various risks attached and to take formal steps to mitigate those risks.
Let’s take a look at some of the different kinds of risks in question.
Risks and threats
Security threats can be subtle and come from sources that we might not be on the lookout for. Data loss and theft are widespread phenomena. The preferred means for hackers to gain access to a system is often through phishing attacks, which rely on tricking a person into clicking a link or performing some other action.
Denial-of-service attacks don’t target your data directly, but the website through which you’re selling things. They work by creating a swarm of fake users that relentlessly spam your site, rapidly sucking up the available bandwidth and crashing performance. If yours is a retail business that relies on making sales, then such a thing can be disastrous for your reputation.
There’s also the kind of risk that has nothing to do with a malicious third party – unless you count the legal authorities. If your company fails to meet its regulatory obligations, then it might be vulnerable to expensive legal action.
What can a business do about it?
It’s much easier to prevent a threat from manifesting than it is to deal with it after the fact. Getting specialized cyber insurance in place will offer you a degree of protection against a range of digital threats.
Additionally, instilling a culture of vigilance in your workforce, and providing regular staff training, can help you to deal with what is a constantly evolving threat. Simple things like keeping software updated might also thwart a breach.
Disaster planning and simulation can also help you to become better prepared for when an actual disaster strikes, and to minimize the damage.
