The costs of defense

The most common methods that criminals use to break into our data and operations are fraudulent emails, viruses and malware, impersonization attempts, and ransomware. Whether It is done with a goal of shutting you down–such as a denial of service (DoS), pure mischief, or from the desire to access and use your data for profit, cybercrime damages your business. As a result, any responsible business, no matter how small, has a responsibility to take steps to defend its operations and data. With the rise of cybercrime, an entire new area of business expense has arisen: assessing and building defenses to fend off an attack. Just consider the outlays that didn't exist a few decades ago.

First, there is the entire process of doing a complete risk assessment: identifying all your areas of vulnerability. This requires dedicating the labor of your internal team or else bringing in outside consultants. Next comes the expense of the purchase and installation of anti-malware software. Additionally, every business needs to prepare a complete disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Finally, this investment is not a one-time thing. Ongoing monitoring and updates are required to keep up with the latest strategies and viruses being developed by cyber criminals. This is an ongoing process that cannot be done once and forgotten. Criminal tricks and digital tools are constantly evolving and your defenses need to adapt.