What is cyber risk, and why should I care? Recently, the National Cybersecurity Center and Department of Homeland Security published a white paper on the cover risks faced by the United States.
These cyber threats include infiltration of confidential corporate information, hacking attacks, denial of service attacks, and data manipulation.
As you can probably tell from that list, many bad things can happen when dealing with online data, and many corporations are trying to find ways to protect themselves from this constant threat.
Financial Institutions
Unfortunately, much of the information being shared online has already been compromised. This means that a company or an individual has personally obtained a copy of this data, either intentionally or accidentally.
The same goes for banks and financial institutions, which have had their data stolen in previous attacks.
Cyber Risk
As detailed in the recent White Paper, one way that an employee of a company can pose a cyber risk is to gain unauthorized access to company data.
This includes stealing email passwords, security access codes, and any other information that would give the hacker access to a company’s network.
The same can be said for a hacker Cyberversicherung who has gained access to a company’s network via a virus, worm, or Trojan horse.
Business Reputation
Another risk associated with cyber incidents is poor security practices. For example, if a business owner’s server has been compromised, it can cause lost revenues and customers.
Imagine having to close your business down because you can’t afford to fix your servers. Not only can this cost your business income, but it can also cost your business reputation.
Cyber Attacks
Poorly encrypted websites and emails have always been known to be targets for cybercriminals. Just recently, the Federal Trade Commission held a hearing to address these issues.
At the hearing, the FTC brought up the example of Target, a major retail store chain, which was the target of numerous cyber attacks.
In one case, $ondo, a well-known online retailer, had his personal information stolen by hackers who had gained access to his website’s database.
Technology
With all the new forms of technology and the ease with which people can share personal and business information across the internet, it is easy for cyber threats to affect us.
This is particularly true when it comes to the retail and business industries. However, there are also some risks to our personal lives from cyber attacks.
Many experts have labeled cyber threats as the most significant crime wave of the 21st century.
Traditional Business Intelligence
So, now that we know what cyber threats are, what do we do to protect ourselves? One step that many businesses have taken is to incorporate a cyber risk management plan into their overall business strategy.
By creating this type of plan, you can determine what kinds of events might occur that threaten your company and then work to mitigate those risks.
This means not just devoting resources to traditional business intelligence gathering but focusing that resources on the most critical events and working to protect your business against the most severe potential threats.
In addition, there are many tools available to help you understand cyber threats, develop a response to them and even work to fix them once they have occurred.
Last Words:
As an entrepreneur, whether you are a small start-up with just a few customers or a behemoth like Wal-Mart with hundreds of thousands of customers, you need to be very concerned with cyber risk, and why should I care? In the business world, these are genuine threats that can cause your company to go out of business and even put your employees at risk of losing their jobs.
There are obvious reasons why this must be taken very seriously by anyone in the business realm, and the good news is that there are tools available to help with this all daily.
Why not take advantage of those tools and learn as much as you can about cyber risk today, so you know what to do if it happens.
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