How Is Cyber Security Both A Business Risk and IT Challenge?

Cyber-security is established protocols that businesses apply to secure their systems and networks. Cybersecurity is the collective plans to overcome susceptibility of business data and systems to potential malicious, fraudulent and business damaging attacks from online cyber-criminal sources. Cybersecurity has become a very important issue today more than ever before.

Types of Common Cyber Security Risks and Attacks

Hacking: this is trying to compromise digital devices like computers, smartphones, tablets or entire networks. Hacking may not be done for malicious purposes but characteristic activity by cyber criminals for financial gain, as a form of protest, gather data through spying) or as a hobby.

Phishing: this is a cyber-security risk derived from social engineering that attempts to access sensitive business data like passwords, usernames, credit card numbers etc.

SQL Injection: this is a cybersecurity attack targeting primarily data-driven applications by using security lapses in the application’s software.

Spoofing: is a multi-dimensional attack on various security systems to render them ineffective and access sensitive business data. Spoofing involves other types like HTTPS, DNS, IP and ARP spoofing among other tactics. This opens business communication or data exchange to a third unauthorized party.

Malware: these are rogue program codes that attempt to access private business or corporate data and include trojans, worms or ransomware, viruses or spyware. It is a software code developed by cyber-attack specialists and made to get into or compromise data and systems or gain access to business networks. It may come as a link or file over email that asks users to click on the link or open the file to make it operational. Different malware affect target systems in different ways.

Ways in which Cyber Security Is a Business Risk and IT Challenge

1. High Recovery Costs

Cyber-security risks and breaches put business data at risk with potentially severe financial losses. From IT training, acquiring new software or restoring lost data the implications of time and money lost is very high.

2. Extreme Business Data Exposure.

Businesses rely heavily on collected data like market statistics, business account details or client personal data and competitor data etc. All this is critical data that can impact the fortunes and operational capacity of businesses productively and positively.  However, in the event of cyber hack, data may be lost, compromised or outright stolen by hackers.

3. Competitor Snooping and Spying

As much as a business collects data and tries to secure it for its strategic planning and business analysis. Other businesses are trying to upstage it through seemingly innocent snooping or spying on its next business step or strategy. The secured business data thus becomes a premium target for other competitor businesses to try and upstage you. This presents a cyber-security risk as valuable data is always being sought, ‘hunted’ by cyber criminals and others either for wrong intentions or just to keep an eye what other similar businesses are doing.

4. Business Transactions and Communications Tracking

Apart from market analytics and statistics, the most valuable business data is business transactions and communications online. Today, a lot of trade is done electronically or using digital means with fewer paper trails but with heavy digital footprint trails that if not secured well pose serious cybersecurity risks. This always the first line of attack that cyber criminals attempt to break up and access rich data and perhaps even defraud the business massively.

Moreover, business communication data is privileged and very private. It must be secured and highly encrypted to prevent important business discussions from being accessed or compromised by unauthorized third-party. This another cybersecurity risk as these business discussions, talks, strategic planning, and market execution strategy are vital to business success and growth. That is why privacy and secrecy are of the utmost importance. 

5. Client Loyalty and Trust

Clients prefer uncompromised business and personal data in case of cyber-attacks to businesses. Whenever consumer data is safe customers continue their relationship and trust with the business however when the reverse happens clients look for other business service providers.

6. Online Business Brand Reputation

Onlinebusiness reputation risk management and cybersecurity are inseparable. Cybercriminals and other illegal entities are on the lookout for customer data to fail and bring down businesses. When serious cyber-security compromises happen a negative public view or perception of businesses takes place as unreliable, untrustworthy and unsafe businesses. This infuses negative brand impacts revolving around trust that may not be easy to undo and heavily affect business brand reputation as well as bottom lines for a very long time.

That is why business brand reputation and recognition are valuable assets. There is a lot attached to it that makes it imperative for all online businesses to preserve and protect it fervently.

Summary

Detecting cyber-security risks or actual attempts to compromise business cyber-security is hard. However, for CybersecuritySingapore, management of cyber-security risks and threats is progressive and needs both tactical and superior approach to counter risks and challenges posed for businesses online and offline by being fully prepared and fully-alert to all sorts of IT challenges. As the saying goes 'offence is the best form of defence', ensuring real-time business system safety and security can be achieved by regular update all of all potential avenues of cyber-attacks and granting businesses an impenetrable cyber-security framework against these risks.