In a world where our personal data is a currency of trust, the risk of not putting your investment in your customers’ private information can cost you your hard-earned reputation. New technologies present great opportunities for businesses to evolve. Opportunists with an appetite for cyber chaos are primed to take advantage of the weaknesses in your cybersecurity strategy.
If cybersecurity isn’t one of your top priorities, you’re probably in the minority of businesses. In 2016, Symantec detected 357 million new variants of malware. With statistics like that, combined with the wealth of options to combat the threats to your business, it’s likely you’re left in a state of confusion. How can you protect your business and your customers’ data without stifling your workforce?
Just this week, Ticketmaster has publicly admitted that 40,000 UK users have been affected by a hack-attack. In 2017, they sold 292 million tickets to customers online. Ticketmaster said customers who bought concert, theatre and sporting event tickets between February and 23 June 2018 may have been affected by the incident, which involved malicious software being used to steal people’s names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, payment details and Ticketmaster login details. Imagine finding out that your data had been used to purchase Uber gift cards and Netflix memberships.
By allegedly delaying reporting the breach, there are also potential GDPR consequences, and most importantly, their customers will inevitably have lost trust in Ticketmaster’s systems and processes. No business wants to feel that their lack of cybersecurity measures has led to a loss of confidence from their customers and reputation amongst other businesses.
CCS Insight estimates that Microsoft, Amazon and Google together spend more than $2 billion a year on security in their cloud products. So, it feels safe to say that investment in security must be top of your agenda, but I would be hesitant to say that investment on innovation research and trying new things should be reduced in an effort to subsidise your security survival fund. It’s all about finding the right balance for your business.
