In recent years, the world has become even more data-driven. We have seen the explosive demand for data which ushered in the creation of unprecedented volume, velocity and variety. This shift has also resulted in additional risks, with wider impact and costlier consequences

The global financial services industry continues to come under siege by increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks.Nearly 50 percent of global financial companies have suffered a breach as reported by the 2017 Thales Data Threat Report[1]. The impact is costly since on average financial companies globally will likely incur over $6 million for a single data breach.

Protecting your small or medium sized business from cyber threats is no simple task. This is because cybersecurity is a process, not a result. An effective cybersecurity strategy involves many moving parts and a multitude of factors both internal and external to the organization. The need for a cybersecurity strategy is urgent as new scams and hacks are being developed daily. Many firms hit with cyber-attacks are oblivious to the danger. According to a new Nationwide Insurance survey, nearly half of companies that were impacted by a cyber-attack did not know that one had even occurred1. This highlights a major concern for business. Cyber threats are some of the biggest threats facing modern businesses today.

When data breaches, data loss, and other cybersecurity concerns are the topic of discussion, outside threats tend to dominate. However, insider threats have recently come to the forefront as the greatest risk to businesses today. In a recent Veriato Insider Threat Spotlight Report, it was discovered that 62% of over 260,000 security professionals have seen an increase in insider threats in the last 12 months while 12% are unsure.

Data is an invaluable asset for businesses.It allows them to drive business success and evolve in an ever-changing corporate landscape. However, many organizations lack adequate protection and prevention strategies that preclude data breaches and data loss, which serves as a recipe for business failure. In the Dell EMC Global Data Protection Index – Global Results 2016 Report, it was reported that organizations that have experienced data loss in the prior twelve months incurred an average estimated cost of $914,000 in damages. A total of 29% of the 2200, respondents from the 18 businesses surveyed suffered data loss during that twelve-month period. The causes of such loss not only included cyber-intrusions, but also data corruption, hardware failures, power losses, and software errors, among many others.

In 2016, it was discovered that mobile device breaches cost enterprises millions of dollars.Lookout, a global leader in mobile security, and Ponemon Institute conducted a study on the economic risk of mobile data breaches, as well as potential maximum losses. They found during their research that losses could be as high as $26.4 million. There were 588 IT and security leaders from the Forbes Global 2000 companies who participated in this study. Researchers examined the risks introduced by employee access to increasing amounts of corporate data via their mobile devices and then assigned a cost to any mobile-based breach.

In May 2017, WannaCry caused mayhem, infecting more than 300,000 computers, and produced excessive losses. “The estimated damage caused by WannaCry in just the initial 4 days would exceed a billion dollars, looking at the massive downtime caused for large organizations worldwide”, says Stu Sjouwerman, founder, and CEO at KnowBe4, a company that specializes in training employees on how to detect and respond to ransomware attacks. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts Global ransomware damage costs will exceed $5 billion in 2017, up from $325 million in 2015.

Keeping up with cybersecurity is a worldwide challenge. In Beyond Trust’s 2017 Federal Cybersecurity Threat Survey Report, 42% of 105 senior IT professionals had experienced a data breach in the last six months and one in eight had experienced a data breach in the last month. The average costs of these data breaches are more than $91,000, while the highest profile breaches can run into the millions of dollars in damages.

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in security software, stated that cyber espionage is the most serious threat concern to global businesses in 2017.Twenty percent of global organizations rank cyber espionage as the most serious threat to their business, with 26% struggling to keep up with the rapidly evolving threat landscape. In addition, one in five U.S. organizations have suffered a cyber espionage-related attack in the last year. Trend Micro’s research covered over 2,400 organizations across the U.S. and Europe.