As cybercrime tactics grow increasingly sophisticated, the need for cutting-edge security frameworks has become ever-more critical in recent years.
According to statistics by RiskBased, data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records in the first half of 2019 alone, most of which were “financially motivated.” Such crimes result in an annual average loss of over $1 million per organization, with specific numbers dependent on the type of attack. Reports also predict cybercrime to cost the global economy over $6 trillion by 2021.
In the state of New York, cybercrime has led to a loss of over $198 million dollars in 2019, placing it among the top five hardest-hit states.
To ensure the safety of you and your clients’ information, and mitigate the risk of financial loss, regular cybersecurity assessments are a must. These four key reasons explain why any business, regardless of size, require these frequent evaluations.
Keeps your cybersecurity up to date
The greatest benefit to performing cybersecurity assessments is the opportunity to keep your safeguards up to date and effective. Just because they may have worked a year ago doesn’t mean they’re quite as strong today.
Regular assessments keep you and your workers on top of the latest threats, the ways they’re generated, and how they’re often exploited. Staying abreast of these new tactics can also shine light on new tools or software for protection.
Evaluating your current systems even pinpoints areas for improvement and possible entry points for potential attacks. By the end of your assessment, you’ll have a documented list of new security needs and improvement methods. This raises your current security standards and allows you to stay in line with industry best practices.
Gives you a better understanding of your business
Of course, having regular assessments to ensure top-quality cybersecurity can grant you, your employees, and your clients peace of mind. Knowing your methods of protection are the best they can be reassures customers that their information is in good hands. A reliable security system even enables employees to perform more efficiently and with confidence, knowing their private data and business activities are kept from prying eyes.
What’s more, a thorough assessment gives you the chance to be intimately familiar with the ins and outs of your business, granting better insight on what’s happening at different levels in your organization. This allows you to identify not only potential risks and fishy activity, but also areas in which communication or operational efficiency could be improved.
Ensures regulatory compliance
By having regular security assessments, you ensure your business is compliant with the governmental standards for protecting sensitive data. Implementing these thorough check-ups can determine potential areas for improving compliance.
Depending on your industry, you may be bound to a different set of security standards. Financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, and businesses that sell financial products fall under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), for example, while healthcare providers, health plans, and health clearinghouses are bound to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These latter, in particular, require healthcare organizations to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information through solutions like encryption, access management, and data backups.
Failure to comply with industry-specific regulations can lead to lawsuits, financial penalties, and reputational damage to your company. That’s why cybersecurity assessments are so crucial, since they help you identify and prevent these risks from occurring in the first place.
Motivates employees and raises security awareness
Finally, regular assessments raise awareness about the latest risks and methods of protection.
A positive security culture starts at the top, and by demonstrating the importance of these assessments in the workplace, your employees will likely be motivated to better their security practices and improve their knowledge in the field.
Spreading awareness of cybersecurity and reinforcing protection can also highlight the criticality of your employees’ work, helping them feel more valued and essential to the company. This, of course, will likely result in greater workplace morale and willingness to contribute to your business’s security culture.
Healthcare organizations are especially required to keep confidential data safe. At Healthy IT, we offer a wide variety of IT solutions to ensure quality data storage and reliable digital systems for practices in Central Islip, New York and the Long Island/Tri-State Area. Inquire with our experts today for the technological upgrades your business needs.
