Cybercriminals have more targetsย now thatย organisationsย have adopted aย remote style ofย work.ย The unfortunate outcome is thatย organisationsย mustย adoptย remote workย in some shape or form, or risk losingย significantย income, time,ย convenienceย andย potentialย competitive edge.ย Fortunately,ย organisationsย have shiftedย intoย investingย intoย cybersecurityย as a means toย combat cyber threats, but still underestimateย the catastrophic damage a cyber eventย can cause. Thus, itโs important thatย organisationsย are awareย and understandย just how much damage a cybercriminal canย causeย once they have compromised a system.ย
Disrupting day to day operationsย
Depending on the nature of theย cyber incidentย such as phishingย andย ransomware,ย a cybercriminal may have various intentions, but the commonality is to cause significant disruptionย withย the intention to reap some financial reward for their efforts.ย So,ย the idea is to disruptย yourย organisationย enough toย effect servicesย andย delivery of services orย productsย to clients, and in some extreme cases, a total shut down of business operations.ย
Yourย organisationย may alsoย need toย temporarilyย change the way theyย operate becauseย ofย the compromise.ย This meansย delays and inconveniencesย toย day-to-day operationsย –ย testing the resiliencyย ofย yourย organisationย –ย as well as irrecoverable lossesย toย company and client data.ย In the long term, this is time and revenue that cannot be recovered.ย In the short term,ย thisย change may also be something that cannot be implemented gradually but immediate out of necessityย – a change that may have been a โwantโ, has now become a change that is a โneedโ.ย
Unforeseen Costsย
Now thatย yourย organisationย has been compromised, itโs almost impossible to calculate how much damage theย cybercriminalย willย cause, andย youย may not even knowย that youย have beenย compromisedย until theย cybercriminal makes their presence known.ย Their intentions are usually to leverage critical information against theย organisationย for monetary gain or toย exfiltrate dataย and sell it for similar gain. In some instances, these cybercriminals mayย encryptย all this informationย regardlessย if they get what they want,ย meaning you are locked awayย fromย your own critical information that is now completely out of your controlย until you meet their demands.ย
Reputational Damageย
Whetherย yourย organisationย is a fortune 500 or a startup, maintaining a positive reputation results in a solid client base and a healthy return of customers in the long term. Customers may not feel safe or trustย anย organisationย afterย theyย have been compromised and may lookย elsewhereย forย similarย products and services. Those customers โword of mouthโ aloneย through online reviews, recommendations to people around them and so forth may add extra fuel to the fire and make building a reputation from the ground up again a truly impossible task.ย
In more extreme circumstances, someย organisationsย keep hold of critical client information such as finances, credit card information and investments. If anย organisationย like this gets compromised in any way โ aside from the legal implications โ the reputational damage essentially becomes irreversible and unless youโre anย organisationย that is essential for businesses to run โ theย chanceย of permanentย closure canย quickly become aย reality.ย Reputation is something that cannot be bought,ย and in theย corporateย world is something that can take years to develop but can be lost overnight.ย
Conclusionย
All this cost, damage, and inconvenience can be caused from a single individual who clicked on a suspicious link or email and was none the wiser to what they were doing โ itโs really that simple for a cybercriminal. In todayโs world, having a cybersecurityย partnerย by your side is something that is becoming somewhat of aย need,ย becauseย organisationsย needย specifically designedย preventative measuresย and systems in place to protect themselves from cyberattacks. Even if a cybercriminal manages toย compromiseย your systems,ย theย mitigationย a cybersecurityย partnerย will saveย yourย organisationย may be the difference betweenย permanentย closure. They will also haveย tools,ย techniquesย and human capitalย in place to detect any anomalies and inaccuracies to pick upย whether a cyber threat might be lurking in theย organisation.ย All in all, it would be a wise decision in the current climate to invest inย an active program to improveย cybersecurityย maturityย orย a partnerย as aย strategic service providerย forย yourย organisation.ย It’sย important to remember, itโs not a matter of โifโ you will be compromised, but rather โwhenโ you will be compromised.ย