Tips for Keeping Your Systems Secure, and What Could Happen If You Don’t

Tech breaches seem to be in the news all the time. With so much attention on information that has been compromised, it’s natural that companies in every industry are beefing up security.

Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier said than done.

Antivirus software used to be enough, but in today’s interconnected world, there are many methods you need to pursue when keeping your data safe. If you don’t, you could find your business in big trouble.

How to Keep Your Systems Secure

A multi-faceted approach to security is vital to any business. It starts with antivirus software, but it doesn’t stop there.

Many systems require their own protection, and the more complex they get, the more important that protection is.

For example, comprehensive DNS solutions for your business will keep your domain name system protected from hackers. That’s important because more and more hackers are targeting DNS systems for information. Within just the last few years, as much as 77-percent of companies faced DNS-specific attacks.

That’s not all! You should beef up your network security, which includes using a firewall, protect any information you have stored in the cloud, and utilize payment gateway software to keep customer and client payment information secure.

If you aren’t sure what which systems need protection, or how to protect them, make sure you seek the help of a professional for their recommendations. If you don’t, you could experience the following serious setbacks.

Fines

Businesses have a responsibility to their customers, clients, employees, and shareholders to protect their information. If that responsibility isn’t taken seriously, your business could be in for some hefty fines.

The biggest data breaches among the world’s biggest companies unsurprisingly come with large fines, but even smaller operations can suffer greatly. For example, a small business in the healthcare industry could be ruined if patient information is compromised. A single HIPAA violation can lead to a fine of $1.5 million or more, depending on the nature and extent of the breach.

Decrease in Productivity

If you ask employees, all this security greatly impacts their ability to do their jobs. A whopping 91-percent of respondents in a survey regarding company security policies report that their productivity is negatively impacted by security measures.

You might think that would be a case for relaxing a bit on security, but the opposite is actually true. One thing that decreases employee productivity even more than security measures is a breach.

A hacker can disable software and devices. The only thing more frustrating for an employee than taking the extra time to hunt down information in a protected system is not having access to it at all because that system isn’t currently running.

If your operations are able to continue in spite of the breach, employees will still experience productivity issues. Some employees may be stressed by the breech, while others may face an increased workload thanks to the compromised data.

Recovery Challenges

Recovering data is time-consuming. It requires multiple steps that include:

• Determining if a hack has actually occurred, and where.
• Investigating the scope of the data breach.
• Containing the problem by shutting down affected systems.
• Remediating the problem and ensuring it doesn’t happen again.
• Communicating with customers, clients, and employees about the data breach.

Not only is recovery going to cost you plenty of time, it will likely end up costing you plenty of money too. In addition to the possibility of a fine, you will likely have to update software and hardware. You might have to pay for new services, new apps, and new computers.

Loss of Customers

As you would expect, customers don’t like data breeches. If you experience one, you will be required to inform your customers, which means you’ll have to go above and beyond to retain those customers. That might mean:

• Being transparent about the information that was compromised.
• Retooling and reaffirming company policies and mission statements.
• Communicating updates as soon as they are available.
• Sharing system updates that will prevent an attack from happening again.
• Offering complimentary products or services.

Even with all that extra work to retain customers, you can be sure that it won’t be enough to keep them all, which means putting in more time and effort to find new customers after a breach.

Don’t let any of these possibilities become a reality. Take the time and effort to be proactive about your systems and the security measures you choose. It may be a bit of a headache now, but it’s nothing compared to the headache you’ll experience in the future if you’re hacked.

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