Tech Tip Tuesday: The Long-Term Consequences of a Cybersecurity Breach for Your Business

Cybersecurity has rapidly become one of the most essential parts of IT services in the past few years. Cybersecurity breaches increased 78% in 2023 and are expected to continue to rise. There are many different types of cybersecurity breaches, and each comes with a long list of issues that arise in the aftermath. To better understand the various types of cybersecurity breaches, let’s take a look at each one and what they entail.

Types of Cybersecurity Breaches

Each type of cybersecurity breach will cause a various extent of loss, but there will always be some loss. Whether it be loss financially or physically, let’s dive into the different types of cybersecurity breaches to look out for. 

• Compromised Email – If an employee’s password is stolen, guessed, or cracked, their email address can be used to steal credentials, financial information or initiate wire transfers. This can happen due to weak passwords, a data leak, or a successful phishing attempt.

• Phishing – The most common type of phishing refers to an email that looks like it comes from a reputable company requiring you to enter your login information. Whether it be banking, a shopping website, or company software, these emails are almost unrecognizable with the help of AI. To learn more about phishing, check out our previous article here.

• Social Engineering  – Social engineering is a form of manipulation to gain access to secure accounts. This can mean using spoofed emails that look like they come from an honest source asking for sensitive information. This can be as simple as asking you to open an attachment or link. That attachment or link can contain malware and expose company data.

• Physical Theft – If a company device is stolen and compromised, everything on the system is exposed. This is everything from files to passwords to company financial information. Anything the employee had access to is now in the hands of a stranger with malicious intent.

• Internal Threat – An employee or a contract worker with access to sensitive information can also pose a threat to your cybersecurity. While access may be deemed necessary, it’s always important to lock down terminated employees’ devices as soon as termination is effective. The same goes for contract workers.

The Long-Term Consequences of a Cybersecurity Breach

• Fines – If your company needs to remain in compliance with HIPAA, COPPA, CCPA, or CMMC, there could be fines associated with a cybersecurity breach. If you do not have the proper cybersecurity in place to prevent and isolate the attack, then you may fall out of compliance and be held liable.

• Reputation – A damaged reputation always comes with a large cybersecurity breach. Protecting your client’s information and ensuring they trust your business is essential to maintaining a solid customer base. If your reputation takes a hit, you could lose not only new customers but returning customers as well.

• Employees – If a data breach occurs, your employees could also feel that their information was not proactively secured. This can cause loyal employees to seek employment where they feel their information is better protected.

• Lawsuits – Cybersecurity breaches can lead to costly lawsuits. Any affected party can file a lawsuit if they feel your business was negligent in protecting their information.

• Financial Loss – The average cost of a data breach of an organization with fewer than 500 employees is 3.31 million. Small businesses need to stay alert to the true costs of a data breach because it could be enough to put everything you’ve worked for in jeopardy. 
  

  How to Prevent a Cybersecurity Breach

  To prevent a cybersecurity breach, implement managed IT services that will cover not only cybersecurity compliance but also data backup and disaster recovery planning. This includes services such as dark web scans, phishing protection, data backup, network security, and more. Think of your business like a new house. 

  The first line of protection is your fence, then your locked door, then the safe that protects your valuables, and so on. Good cybersecurity should function in the same way, in layers. If one layer fails, another is uncovered. If the last layer of protection is breached, then data backup and recovery are deployed. This way, you’ll have peace of mind that no matter what happens, your data is protected and recoverable. 

  What to do if Your Business Experiences a Cybersecurity Breach

  While it would be ideal to be able to depend fully on cybersecurity measures to keep your sensitive data protected, there is always some risk. This is where cyber insurance comes into play. If the worst-case scenario does eventually happen, cyber insurance can help protect your company from some of the negative consequences and help navigate the impact. 

  Most cyber insurance policies require the company to qualify by proving they have implemented safe practices around their data. With managed services, you can ensure that you will qualify for cyber insurance with an assessment of your current cybersecurity measures. This will identify the gaps in your current IT infrastructure and allow you the information to fill those gaps in order to qualify.

  The Bottom Line

  The long-term consequences of a data breach can be devastating, especially to a small business. But just because you own a small business doesn’t mean you should have to worry. At Computek we treat all our clients, big and small, with the same attention to detail and urgency. If you or someone you know needs assistance assessing current cybersecurity measures, call us at 512-869-1155 or visit us online at Computekonline.com to schedule a free cybersecurity assessment!

  That’s all for this week, we’ll see you next time for Tech Tip Tuesday!