Security incidents can cost a small- to medium-sized business (SMB) over $85,000, according to a recent study by Kaspersky Lab. The study additionally found that large businesses may pay as much as $861,000 for such incidents. This report reveals just how much a breach can affect a firm's financial health.
Following are some important lessons on how IT knowledge that's gained from experience can play a role in shaping SMB or enterprise visions.
Corporate Breaches Are Common
The aforementioned study, 2016 Corporate IT Security Risks, surveyed 4,000 respondents from various sized organizations representing 25 countries. About half of all respondents indicated that they assume their data protection will be breached at some point. It turns out that 77% of U.S. companies and 82% of global businesses have suffered one to five separate data security breaches in the past year.
As much as 38% of businesses have lost productivity to cyber disruptions such as malware or viruses in the past year. Other common problems include inappropriate IT activity by support personnel and attacks that have led to data loss. Today's organizations should be particularly concerned that about a third of all companies lose a device each year, which could lead to infiltration by cyber criminals. And 43% of employees are affected by data loss or exposure, which drives up maintenance costs due to higher demands on IT staff.
Cost of a Breach
The cost of a breach depends on how soon the company can find out and do something about it. A recent Webroot study found that one in 10 U.S. businesses report that it can take up to a year to detect a breach. The longer a breach is stretched out without being caught, the more damage it can cause. The way a company responds to a breach also factors into the cost, since a quick response can lower costs by a significant margin.
Setting up a contract with a cloud-based data center is a responsible way to prepare for a disaster, given that adequate research has been conducted to confirm that the provider uses multiple backup servers to store data and has an instant backup generator ready if the main generator fails.
How Technology Drives Vision
Company vision is often shaped by the available technology it uses to operate. Management of the platform responsible for making business possible is an important part of controlling and forecasting company activity. That's why a company must consider its infrastructure and IT team as influential factors that shape the company's vision and goals for the future.
Conclusion
Due to rising security concerns, managers across all industries are willing to expand their IT budgets. The average budget increase is 14% over the next three years. Both enterprises and SMBs view IT infrastructure complexity as the main reason for security budget increases. While enterprises have problems with hackers, SMBs are confronted more with mobile device exploitation. Businesses of any size need to pay close attention to backup and disaster recovery plans. Working with an IT consultant that stays on top of new technology is another way to keep a company's data secure.