COVID vs. CYBER CRIME:
Which could have the biggest impact on your business?
We are well into summer and STILL dealing with all this COVID stuff. While COVID arguably caught everyone by surprise, other significant threats should not. Cyber-crime is one of those threats. Cyber-crime is projected to reach $6 TRILLION worldwide in 2021, with the estimated threat in the US at approximately $600 BILLION. That’s more than FOUR TIMES the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina—the biggest natural disaster in US history. Knowing that sort of threat is on the horizon, are we ready?
We like to think catastrophic things don’t happen to us, but cyber-crime does not discriminate. We may read about large cases that happen to big companies, but 43% of all cyber-crime happens to small businesses. And 60% of all small businesses hit with a major cyber event do not survive the attack.
Yes, this message should concern you. While you can’t prevent an attack from happening, you can definitely enhance the likelihood of surviving the incident. How?
Take intelligent steps NOW to be ready.
- Do an assessment – identify your vulnerabilities
- Make sure you have robust security protocols in place
- Make sure you know who you will call in the event of a cyber incident
- And think about what role, if any, your insurance plays in all of this
A friend of mine likes to say: “If you and your friends encounter a bear in the woods, you don’t have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than at least one of your friends.” Make sure your company and personal data is protected so the cyber pirates will pass you up for someone less prepared. As the experts say, it isn’t a matter of if, but when your company will be hit with a cyber-attack.