Explore the Consequences of Cyberattacks

Every year, the number of cyberattacks perpetrated against businesses grows exponentially. Organizations of all sizes are targets, but small businesses are especially at risk. They are the main mark for cybercrime because cybercriminals know small business owners don’t usually have a strong security posture. In other words, small businesses are often easy targets.

How well would your business recover from a cyberattack? Unless you have a strong cybersecurity backup and recovery plan, your chances of recovering at all are slim. In fact, 60% of small businesses close within six months of being hacked.

The attacks that bring down businesses aren’t limited to data breaches, although a data breach can certainly put people out of business. The types of cyberattacks that can put small businesses out of commission include ransomware attacks, zero-day exploits, viruses, trojans, and phishing schemes.

Why Do Small Businesses Fail to Recover From Cyberattacks?

While the details vary between organizations, the main reason small businesses close after getting hacked is often because it’s too expensive to recover. They either don’t have the money to rebuild their business, or they’ve lost the critical data that would make a full recovery possible.

You Need a Partner For Managed Security Services

Cybercriminals can destroy a business overnight, but that doesn’t have to be your experience. It’s possible to withstand and/or recover from a cybersecurity incident when you work with a reputable managed network security partner. A managed security services provider (MSSP) will monitor, maintain, and manage your organization’s security 24/7. Without this service, your business is at risk.

The Consequences of Cyberattacks

Each business will experience different consequences, and some industries will get hit harder than others. Generally speaking, however, falling victim to a cyberattack can result in the following consequences:

Lost Customers

A customer’s loyalty may only stretch so far. If your business experiences a cyberattack that damages your reputation, you can expect to lose some existing customers in the process. Even formerly loyal customers might choose not to do business with you after a cyber incident.

Lost Business

Losing business means losing current and future sales from potential customers. Studies have shown that most people wouldn’t do business with an organization after customer data has been exposed in a breach. The consequences are even more dire when customer data is used by hackers after being sold on the dark web, and it can even lead to organized boycotts.

A Damaged Reputation

Customers, clients, and stakeholders expect companies to have a strong security posture, so when an incident occurs, it can cause devastating reputational damage.

Loss of Your Competitive Advantage

If a cyberattack results in someone stealing your intellectual property and years of R&D invested in trade secrets, you could lose your competitive advantage in your industry.

Financial Loss

According to the 2021 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average data breach now costs companies $4.24 million. That’s an increase from $3.86 million in 2020. There’s no doubt that as data breaches continue to increase, so do the financial consequences. Unfortunately, the longer a data breach goes unnoticed, the more expensive the impact.

Regulatory Fines

When unencrypted sensitive data is exposed or stolen during a cybersecurity incident, there are often regulatory fines that follow. For example, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that went into effect in 2018 can fine businesses up to 20 million Euros or 4% of the organization’s annual revenue per violation. In 2020, the French authorities fined Google $57 million for GDPR violations.

Increased Insurance Rates

Your insurance providers might raise your policy rates after a cybersecurity incident.

Operational Disruptions

If your organization doesn’t have a formal backup, resilience, and continuity strategy, a cyberattack can severely disrupt your operations. This often includes downtime for your company’s network, website, and any other software you might be reliant on in your day-to-day operations.

As you can see, cyberattacks aren’t cheap, and they can have serious operational and reputational consequences for your organization. If you’re not fully protected, it wouldn’t take much to put your organization out of business. To avoid a bad reputation, fines, and financial loss, you need a managed network security partner.

How Does Managed Cybersecurity Work?

Disaster recovery services are a necessity in today’s world. Your business can’t afford to skip this important security measure. With managed security services, you’ll have a backup of all your company’s important data, so that if disaster ever strikes, you’ll be able to restore your data quickly and easily.

A managed security provider will set you up with a comprehensive business continuity plan that will include backup and restore services.

Working With an MSP Saves You Money

In addition to securing your organization, working with a managed security provider will also save you money—it can get expensive hiring a full-time team of security professionals to work in-house for your organization. Whether hiring employees or contractors, finding and training qualified security analysts also takes time.

With a managed security team, you won’t need to worry about managing your security tools in-house. Your managed service provider will handle all hardware and software updates, optimization, and ongoing maintenance of your security resources.

Navigate Cyber Risks With a Trusted Managed Network Security Partner

Managed security services can strengthen your organization’s security posture and thwart attacks before they become a problem. First Class Connection can help you develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy to combat malicious users and prevent data loss if you’re hacked. Having a security partner like our team mitigates cyberattacks and ensures you can recover from unpreventable incidents.

If you’re ready to secure your business and protect it from cybercrime, contact us today and learn more about our services.

Explore the Consequences of Cyberattacks

Why Do Small Businesses Fail to Recover From Cyberattacks?

You Need a Partner For Managed Security Services

The Consequences of Cyberattacks

Lost Customers

Lost Business

A Damaged Reputation

Loss of Your Competitive Advantage

Financial Loss

Regulatory Fines

Increased Insurance Rates

Operational Disruptions

How Does Managed Cybersecurity Work?

Working With an MSP Saves You Money

Navigate Cyber Risks With a Trusted Managed Network Security Partner

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