Fintech and Data Protection: The Ultimate Guide to Safeguarding Sensitive Data
The coalition between the financial industry and technology started way before what we have now. Ever since the first ATM in the 1960s, the two industries became joined at the ribs. Furthermore, the evolution of mobile internet paved the way for better improvement in the financial sector. A quick look at the user-friendly and easy-to-use nature of fintechs reveals the stark difference from traditional banks. While fintechs give an aura of freedom, physical banks are often stuffy and brooding. Sure, we love these new developments—the easy transactions and zero-stress payment methods—but we need to consider fintech data protection. What’s the Importance of Data Protection in Fintech? Data is the one thing every business needs in varying amounts, and the sporadic growth of the internet means that organisations have lots of it at their disposal. So, do fintechs use data? Yes, they do. In fact, the category of data fintech companies use and store is very sensitive. We are talking about passwords, credit card numbers, account details, home addresses, etc., and these kinds of data attract the wrong attention. Here comes fintech data protection, which is how fintech companies safeguard data from compromise, loss, or unauthorised access. As a fintech company, there’s a ton of reasons you cannot do without data protection. First is regulatory compliance; as a result of the neverending occurrence of cyberattacks, countries and industries set down laws to oversee the act of safeguarding data. The GDPR for example, protects data of EU citizens regardless of the organization’s location. Similarly, organisations operating in Nigeria answer to the NDPA (Nigerian Data Protection Organisations). Is regulatory compliance necessary for fintech companies? Well, If they wish to boycott the fines and penalties of non-compliance, then they need to protect data. For confirmation, a 2023 report reveals that over 60% of fintechs pay at least $250 000 in compliance fines and one-third pay higher than $500 000. While fintechs are concerned with non-compliance fines, they’re more bothered about customer confidence. The nature of the financial industry doesn’t encourage data breaches because of the severe effects (identity theft, financial fraud, etc.). Once it happens, clients migrate immediately and may never return. Key principles of fintech data protection Data protection is not merely an obligation; it’s a cornerstone to fostering trust, transparency, and growth in the fintech industry. A look at the vast amount of data circulating in the fintech world: data protection must be done (the right way!). So, what are the key principles to fintech data compliance? Lawfulness, fairness and transparency Data collection, processing and storage must follow the lawful pathway and be for legal reasons. Data subjects (data owners) must be informed about the data being collected, the purposes, and their rights. This means that fintech companies have no right to collect, use, or even keep user data without informing the client. We’ll explore how this principle protects data later. Purpose limitation Data cannot be collected nor processed for reasons beyond the stated. If the need arises, fintechs must inform users about new developments. Data minimization Data collected must be relevant to the purpose for which it’s being collected. This principle works hand in hand with purpose limitation. It means that data should be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for the purpose of processing. Integrity and confidentiality appropriate technical and organizational measures must be implemented to protect personal data from unauthorized or unlawful processing and accidental loss Storage limitation and accuracy Users’ personal data must be accurate and kept up-to-date. As a result, fintechs must implement a system to detect and rectify all inaccuracies. Accountability Fintech companies are held accountable for compliance with the above data protection principles. So, they must be able to defend their compliance. To do this, regular risk assessments and appropriate governance structures must be carried out in addition to employee trainings. Beyond, fintechs should create a data protection framework that addresses issues like third-party access, cross-border transfers, and data breaches. Challenges To Fintech Data Protection The journey to data protection for fintech companies would’ve been smooth, but for the challenges it faces. The challenges to fintech data security lower the efficiency level of the system but are also combatable. Let’s look at a few of them. Cybersecurity Threats The financial sector took advantage of the widespread mobile internet to introduce easy transactions and place the customer first. While it produced desired results, the sheer amount and nature of data fintechs use makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks like phishing, hacking, ransomware, etc. A report by Statista confirms the financial industry as one of the most cyberattacked industries, as it takes the no. 2 position. Now, these threats operate in such a vicious and never-ending manner that it takes more effort for fintechs to gaurd against them. Take AI as an example. Cyberminals use AI to scrutinise Fintech’s defence system for vulnerabilities, and it does the job faster than the victim company can rectify the situation. Insider Threats Based on facts, fintech employees are regarded as one of the most security-conscious across various industries. Regardless, their actions, particularly unauthorised access, contribute to the threats to data. A prime example of this is the “NDPC fines Fidelity Bank” fiasco, where the bank (maybe a staff member) used the client’s data without her consent or knowledge. And that’s not even critical. There are situations where cybercriminals exploit the organisations due to the careless nature of the staff. In a recent report, about 49% of fintech staff admit to bending the rules for work ease. Third-party Risks Most times, fintech companies collaborate with other organisations that need access to user data. This practice poses more challenge to fintech data protection as the third party may have weak data protection practices. All it takes is one hit for cybercriminals, and every available piece of data is compromised. Data Protection Measures For Fintech Companies Prevention, they say, is better than cure. The saying rings true for fintechs, and here are some protection measures they can apply. Understanding Regulatory
What Does Data Security Mean for Fintech Companies in 2024?
Data security is a major concern for every business in every industry, fintech inclusive. For enterprises in other industries, securing data might be an afterthought, but fintech companies do not have that luxury. In this blog, we’ll go over data security and what fintech security looks like in 2024. The nature of data the financial sector handles is too delicate to handle without a proper security system. We’re talking about credit card numbers, age, addresses, bank account numbers, etc. The damage one successful data breach can cause can’t be imagined. What’s data security? Data security is the process of safeguarding data against external threats to it’s confidentiality, integrity, and accuracy. Fintechs have to consider data security to fight against the constant and ever-evolving barrage of cyber threats. Besides cyberattacks, regulatory bodies like the GDPR mandate data security as a sign of compliance. So, to be on the safer side, every fintech needs to up their security game. Fintech Security: Overview of the Landscape The condition of fintech security is dire; in the first quarter of 2024 alone, lots of fintech companies became victims of malicious actors. The reality of these statistics further worsens as the onslaught of these attacks becomes more vicious with time. Cybercriminals come up with newer and better technologies faster than the fintech industry; it’s a wonder how we have any fintech companies left. For example, consider the use of artificial intelligence. While it’s a development with plenty of benefits, cybercriminals found use for it. With AI technology, malicious actors scan the data security system of the target company and find weak links frequently. The advancement of this tech makes it easier for them to compromise the system and wreck havoc undetected for a long time. Also, there are laws established to regulate data security like the GDPR, PCI-DSS, NDPA, and so on. With these come stringent rules like the GDPR requirements. So, aside from data breaches, reputational damage, loss of consumer trust, and poor fintech security attract fines and penalties from data protection laws. Nevertheless, the financial industry constantly puts up a fight—albeit not enough—and we look forward to better data security technologies. Now, let’s move forward. What does data security mean for fintech companies in 2024? Here’s a better breakdown of the fintech security landscape. Advanced Threat Detection and Prevention Yes, cybercriminals like hackers attack with more sophisticated technologies. But fintech companies counterattack with a better principle: prevention. Now, financial institutions employ technologies like AI that allow them to monitor their systems for suspicious activities. These tools act like a smoke detector in the sense that, before a data breach occurs, they alert the organisation of its potential. This way, cyber threats like ransomware and phishing are cut short before they cause damage. Although AI is a useful tool, fintech companies need to maximise its potential. How? By developing more AI models that predict vulnerabilities in the system rather than just detecting attacks in progress. That way, they can strengthen their weaknesses and give swift responses to cyber threats. Compliance with Regulations Fintech security got tougher with the enactment of several data protection laws. Governments are clamping down on personal data protection, and there are consequences to non-compliance. For instance, in the EU, organisations answer to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and it’s stringent requirements. The law enforces a large amount of money as a fine, and that’s on a lighter note. Apart from territorial laws, each industry has its own set of regulations, and the number keeps increasing. To keep track of compliance with the many laws, the best thing to do is hire a data protection service consultancy. These are organisations that help businesses achieve maximum compliance with data protection regulations. At Johan Consults, we carry out a detailed assessment of your company’s security system, measure it against the requirements, identify your weaknesses, and provide solutions to them. Contact us now for a free 30-minute consultation. Zero Trust Architecture Like the name implies, this data security model works on a “never trust, always verify” principle. Usually, any user or device in a fintech company can access all data held, but this principle kicks against it. This new practice now insists on proper verification before data can be accessed. It’s more like having to use an ID to enter a room in a secure building. The benefits of this architecture are many. Now, each employee, user, or device can access only the data they’re allowed, and lots of data breaches have been detected. End-to-End Encryption and tokenisation Since a data breach seems unavoidable, fintech security adapted to the terrain. Now, fintech companies employ data security practices like encryption: turning data into secret codes unreadable without the key, and tokenisation: replacing characters in data with random characters, e.g., replacing digits with asterisks in credit card numbers. So even if hackers get the data, they can’t access it. These practices keep payment information and other sensitive personal data from unauthorised access. User Awareness and Education Fintech companies understand that data security goes both ways: for the company and its customers. While individuals rely on the companies to protect their data, they fail to acknowledge their contributions. In 2024, fintech companies are changing the narrative by organising programmes that teach customers how to prevent breaches. Users are educated on how to spot phishing attempts and suspicious links and reduce the risks of being hacked by using multi-factor authentication. Identity Verification and Biometrics Fintech security in 2024 is tighter than ever before with the introduction of identity verification and biometrics. Fintech companies now use more than just passwords to verify identities. There are behavioural analytics that check and record how a user interacts with the system, which makes it harder for hackers to impersonate victims. In addition, they might require a fingerprint, analyse a typing pattern, or even the way someone holds their phone. It’s all for added security, and it’s yielding the desired results. Cloud Security and Data Sovereignty Instead of physical servers, many companies opt for cloud storage for data-online storage.
All You Should Know About Fintech Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting data, computers, servers, mobile devices, software, and all other hardware from malicious attacks. One thing is sure: the most valuable resource in today’s world is data, and it’s a justified fact. One look at the world, and we see an unfathomable evolution—digital transformation. Every industry has begun to embrace the digital space, and financial institutions are not left behind. While we welcome the collaboration between technology and the financial industry, there’s a need to stay on top of the challenges it brings. So, as an individual who finds mobile payments lifesaving or a fintech startup trying to prevent cyberthreats, this article is for you. Read on for the importance of cybersecurity in fintech, the challenges it faces, and the best practices to encourage it. Cybersecurity in Fintech: The Landscape Over the last few years, business as we know it changed, especially the financial industry. The fusion of finance and technology has changed everything. But the dangers increased just as much. When it comes to cybersecurity, the fintech industry can be described with one word, “sensitive,” and its synonyms. Why? To carry out financial transactions on behalf of clients, sensitive data like credit card details, account balances, and pins needs to be stored. Now, cybercriminals attack fintechs for these data—it’s that important. And the modus operandi of these malicious actors do not remain stagnant. They constantly come up with newer and better technology that outsmart whatever defence fintech companies use. All thanks to AI and self-learning software. So, what are Fintechs doing about it? According to Gartner, 75% of companies intend to adopt new solutions that combat the growing global cybersecurity issue caused by new technology challenges. Fintech companies now embrace new cyber solutions and establish partnerships to strengthen their systems against online attacks. Although the careless attitude of employees constitutes some of the chinks in cybersecurity in fintech, fintech employees are part of the most cyber-aware among other industries. To combat the loose-employee side, fintech companies now support cybersecurity with new and better ID solutions. So, let’s move to the fun part. Importance of cybersecurity in Fintech To start with, cybersecurity in fintech serves as a shield for invaluable financial data such as personal information, account details, and transaction details. The consequences of a data breach in the industry can be catastrophic, going beyond identity theft and financial fraud. Implementing cybersecurity is not just a luxury but a necessary practice. It’s important to keep the trust users place in these institutions. When a data breach occurs, fintechs face massive reputational damage, the likes of which they might never recover from. It’s a case of “once bitten, twice shy.” Victims of financial fraud will never trust the institution anymore. To prevent eventual shutdowns due to customer migration and legal consequences, implementing cybersecurity in fintech is crucial. In addition, there’s a need to note that each individual fintech company’s part of a larger network. So, a successful cyberattack in one company is detrimental to others in the industry. To prevent a chain reaction, cybersecurity is best established. The challenges to cybersecurity in fintech Here’s a list of things that make cybersecurity more than a walk in the park Data breaches A data breach occurs when an unauthorised person gains access to personal and sensitive data. This can trigger negative consequences due to the nature of the breached data. For instance, there’s credit card fraud, where cybercriminals clear the victim’s account. And identity theft, when malicious actors perpetrate evil with the victim’s identity. As a fintech company, you must ensure adequate cybersecurity to prevent such occurrences. If not, the consequences will be dire. Insider threat An isider threat is a security risk to data that comes from inside the organisation—the staff. While fintech employees are more aware of cybersecurity than other industries, they aren’t perfect. According to research by the think tank EndPoint Ecosystem, a little over 50% of finance workers believe security policies restrict the way they work, and 49% confess to finding a way to work around their security policies. This shows how much insecurity surrounds data in the fintech world. New technologies The emergence of sophisticated technologies heralds progress and spells doom at the same time. Yes, some technologies are welcome, like the blockchain. Blockchain technology provides a decentralised and immutable ledger that can improve the security and transparency of financial transactions. But other technologies like AI and IoT increase the vulnerability of cybersecurity in fintech to cyberthreats. For example, IoT devices serve as an entry point for cyberattacks, while AI-powered attacks easily find loopholes in the security system. With these, fintech companies best implement authentication and other access control methods to guard up. Compliance with regulations There’s a host of data protection regulations out there, and fintech companies are bound to a few of them. Some of the key data regulations include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and the Federal Information Security Modernisation Act (FISMA). Non-compliance with these data regulations results in harsh penalties—either monetary fines or outright shutdowns. Now, GDPR compliance does not come cheap; it has some particularly expensive requirements, such as hiring a Data Protection Officer and conducting DPIAs (Data Protection Impact Assessments). The cost of compliance poses a challenge to cybersecurity in fintech, especially startups. Third-party risks Third-party vendors help the fintech industry a lot, especially startups who need to outsource services. Yes, they offer lots of assistance, but they bring additional risks to cybersecurity in fintech. Some third parties may not ensure adequate security against cyberthreats, and any fintech doing business with them becomes vulnerable. The way forward is to make sure to outsource tasks to third parties with adequate cybersecurity measures in place. Best practices for cybersecurity in fintech Since we know the common cybersecurity threats in fintech, now’s the time to learn how best to prevent them and limit their impact. Here’s a list of the best cybersecurity practices for fintechs. Conduct regular audits Regular security audits will help you identify and
Top 6 Data Security Challenges Enterprises Face and How to Mitigate Them
Data security has always been important to businesses. But nowadays, its vitality becomes more pronounced. Why? The use of data is tightly woven into the day-to-day activities of enterprises now more than ever. From marketing to competitor analysis to payment methods, data, particularly sensitive data, has earned its keep. Today, we’ll go into the common data security challenges enterprises face and how to mitigate them. What’s going on? Just before we launch into the challenges, let’s take a minute to familiarise with the terrain. It’s important to note that organisations constantly stage a fight—a losing one nonetheless—against cyberattacks of all kinds. The increased spending on cybersecurity in recent years proves that enterprises take the whole thing seriously. Regardless, the data security challenges still seem insurmountable. Why is data security important? The evolution of the workforce from traditional to remote and hybrid created wide gaps in the organisation that let cybercriminals in. and these vulnerabilities expose the enterprise to several consequences ranging from mild to severe. First, there’s unnecessary expenditure. To curtail the effects of a data breach, lots of money will be spent. Although some companies take out insurances to cover the cost, it doesn’t get the job done every time. Factor in the lawsuits from affected customers, and the numbers can only go higher. There’s also the reputational damage to consider. Seeing as no one would trust a brand prone to losing data integrity to constant cyberattacks, organisations need to embrace data security to avoid terrible fates. Also, data protection regulations around the world emphasise the importance of data security. For instance, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates appropriate data security measures as part of its basic requirements. And non-compliance comes with hefty fines and penalties. In 2022, Facebook was fined €265 million after personal data (facebook IDs, location, phone number, email address, etc.) was found on a website for hackers. Another instance: The British ICO issued a €20.4 million fine to Marriott International for failing to secure customers’ personal data. This incidence compromised almost 339 million guest records—personal and sensitive data included. Top data security challenges enterprises face Although businesses now take bold steps towards data security, it still isn’t 100% sufficient. There are some challenges that make securing data stressful—if not impossible. Here’s a compilation of a few data security challenges enterprises face for awareness sake. One thing’s sure: different operational teams make up a successful enterprise. Since data is the heart of each activity, each operational team will have it’s own data and database—very good and efficient. Now, where the problem lies is visibility or transparency. For large organisations with numerous departments, the central team (admin) usually finds it difficult to keep track of every piece of data used, stored, etc. by each team. This makes data security tedious; why? Without knowledge of what’s what, we can’t know exactly what security measures to use. Nowadays, individuals generate large amounts of data daily, which organisations in turn use. Sounds nice and cool till it’s time to secure it. Although large corporations benefit greatly from their large pool of data, securing it requires so much technology, money, and effort. The sheer amount of data leaves several ends unprotected and grants cybercriminals an attack opportunity. In addition, employees use repeated passwords to access personal and professional devices and even connect to insecure networks. That way, they unknowingly leave the door open for malicious actors. With malware becoming very easy to use, malicious actors need alarmingly little to cause significant data issues for their target. Managing cloud and digital infrastructure is a task that requires top-notch skills. You can’t just pick up any John Doe on the streets to help secure data; professionals are needed for the job. Normally, it’s not easy getting skilled workers in any industry. That the “great resignation” is affecting many organisations, the lack of skilled workers poses a challenge to data security for enterprises. Although data breaches disturb the operations of the organisation, customers and clients end up on the receiving end. At the end of the day, it’s the personal data of the individual that leaks. So, to curb these, data protection laws and regulations were enacted. These regulations, like the GDPR of the EU, the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), etc., grant data subjects (data owners) more control over their data and how it’s used. As a consequence, they pose a challenge to enterprises due to their stringent rules. Next is the cost. To properly comply with data security laws, organisations need to implement functional systems to keep track of compliance activities, e.g., GDPR compliance software. And such software doesn’t come cheap. Besides the cost of procuring these systems, their installments don’t come cheap. That’s not including the regular upgrade and cost of hiring a data compliance officer. While growth is a welcome development in every institution, it comes with inconveniences also. Managing data security and privacy solutions can test even the most experienced professionals in the field. For one, budget doesn’t always increase with the pressing demand for better security systems that growth brings, putting treams already struggling with data security under more pressure. The urgent need to install new systems quickly may lead to a situation where maintaining control becomes a concern for CISOs. Remote work is now part of the grand scheme for enterprises that wish to stay up-to-date and retain talents. In fact, it’s recommended that every organisation finds a way to embrace remote work fully, or at least, try out hybrid work mode. Then, securing each endpoint becomes necessary to protect the enterprise. The new landscape and policies that come with hybrid work prove a challenge to data security. This concludes the top 6 data security challenges enterprises face. Tips to mitigate these challenges Now that you know what challenges you’ll most likely face, here’s how your organisation can improve data security. Reduce the attack surface This is achieved by placing an access limit on sensitive data. This additional security control pops up right before accessing critical business info. This approach, referred to as the zero trust
Top 7 Data Security Technologies
As a business, you will collect data. In fact, it’s more than necessary for proper growth. You’ll need it for a tonne of reasons, like managing customer relationships, marketing, recording transactions, and several others. While data is extremely valuable, it can be a wrecking ball for your business—only if you don’t take strong and purposeful steps to secure it. Amongst the massive amounts of data your organisation collects, a lot are sensitive and personal. These make your business a sitting target for hackers and cybercriminals. While a cyberattack is unvoidable for businesses—statistics show that each organisation averages 1363 cyberattacks per week—you can prevent a successful data breach. With the appropriate data security technologies, you get to secure your business against cybercrimes. What is data security? Before we go into data security technologies, let’s go over the concept of data security. Data security is the entire process an organisation goes through to secure its data from data breaches. Often times, data security, data protection, and cybersecurity are mistaken for the same. Why? Their primary goal is to safeguard data. The danger to data lies beyond cyberattacks. Think of it this way: while cyberattacks are external efforts to compromise data, there are internal threats to it—loss and mishandling by the organisation’s own staff. So, data protection is the method to safeguard data from loss, compromise, or mishandling (insider threats). Data security defends data against threats to its confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Now, cybersecurity concerns the protection of data and assets such as software, hardware, computer systems, mobile phones, connection devices, etc. So, with cybersecurity, you also secure every device used to collect, process, or store sensitive data. What is the importance of data security? The most important reason why organisations go out of their way to secure data is for compliance. Nowadays, countries around the world have established data security laws and regulations, and these laws impose hefty fines on noncompliant organisations. Whether your business loses its customers’s data to cyberattacks or mishandling, you will be held responsible for the problem. Here’s what you’re in for: Compliance with data regulations is not the only reason to ensure data security. There’s the reputational damage your business will suffer. Since you need your customers to trust your brand, your business may never recover from such a blow. Asides the customer’s data you hold, data security prevents your company’s core data—employee and customer records, sales and purchase invoices, and digital materials—from breaches. So, with the right data security technologies, you can ensure these are safe. Data Security Technologies Do you understand what data security’s all about? Let’s move on to the data security technologies you can use. The technologies you implement depend on various factors, such as the type of data your business works with, the tools and infrastructure you use, and the structure of your organisation. Top 7 Data Security Technologies You Can Use First is the identification and classification of data. You can’t possibly defend what you don’t know, hence the identification. What kind of data do you hold? What type of data do you handle on behalf of others? Are they names, bank details, religious beliefs, or others?. Answering those questions will reveal the identity of your data correctly. On to data classification. Now that you know your data, the next step is to check what category it falls under. The nature of data is best determined by the data security regulations available. For instance, the GDPR sets its own features for different categories of data; likewise, the NDPA. The NDPA describes sensitive data as “personal data relating to an individual’s “genetic and biometric data, for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person; race or ethnic origin; religious or similar beliefs, Once you’ve identified and classified the data, you can now decide on the best data security technologies to use for it. User Authentication and Authorisation Authentification and authorisation are the most visible technologies available. Almost everyone’s familiar with them. Authentification means that you verify the person trying to access the system is who they say they are. For this, we have usernames and passwords (with multifactor authentication) or an API key for programmatic access. Hardware security uses biometrics, built-in two-factor authentication, and secure enclave technology built into the processor itself. Authorisation checks whether the person has permission to access a particular file or resource. You must ensure your authentication methods only allow the people you want into your systems. Also, regular updates to access policies must be made. Data Encryption Encryption is known as one of the most reliable ways to secure data. Data encryption uses an algorithm that scrambles data so it becomes unreadable without the decryption key. It provides an extra layer of protection beyond access control because even if data’s stolen, it can’t be read. While this gives added security, you must keep the decryption key safe. Without the key, even you cannot read the data. Data encryption is one of the go-to data security technologies for when data is at rest or in transit. Data Backup Besides access control, you need to consider backing up your data. This helps you recover your data in case of loss or compromise. How to do that? It’s best you have at least 3 copies of your data in different physical locations; that way, you’re 10 steps ahead of a hardware failure. If you use cloud storage, keep a copy on another platform so your data is safe even if you can’t access the primary platform. By making exact copies of your data and keeping it in a secure place where it can be accessed by authorised persons only, you minimise risks. However, ensure you provide maximum protection for the backups, just like the original copy. And conduct regular updates to ensure it’s integrity. Data Masking Masking works by replacing certain parts of data with meaningless characters to make it unreadable. For example, replace all but the last few digits of a credit card number with asterisks. That way, the data gives
The Importance of Cybersecurity Services in Modern Organisations
Introduction In this new age of digital transformation, individuals and organisations are more connected than ever before. The internet provides a safe place for entities to communicate and conduct businesses with an easy backdrop. While it’s a welcome development, it comes with several unpalatable consequences. The importance of cybersecurity services comes in due to the huge target on organisations and persons by unethical people. In this article, I’ll take you through the exact reasons why cybersecurity is important in modern organisations. What is cybersecurity? Cybersecurity is the entire process by which organisations protect their systems (computers), storage devices, and important tools—sensitive data included—from external threats to their functionality. Often times it’s regarded as the same as data security, which isn’t exactly right. While cybersecurity focusses on the protection of sensitive data and all hardware and software in the organisation, data security simply means data protection from external threats. Purpose of Cyberattacks There would be no need for cybersecurity if there wasn’t an enemy to keep out. Cyberattacks are the enemies. The technological advancement of the world gives such attacks enough ammunition to strike at the heart of organizations. In the second quarter of 2024 alone, checkpoint research recorded a 30% increase in the occurrence of cyberattacks globally. To better understand this statistic, just know that cyberattacks average 1636 hits per week for each organization. Now, to the worse fact, no industry is left out of the onslaught. So, imagine your little, medium, or large business taking wave after wave of attacks without a shield system in place. Let’s do an overview of cyberattacks so you can understand what you’re up against. 5 Most Common Cyberattacks Cybercrime is defined as any unauthorised activity that includes network, computer, and any other device. Now, cyber threats are classified into 3 categories: These are the common cyberattacks below. Malware: This threat takes the form of malicious software, hence the term malware. Malware is an umbrella term for viruses, worms, spyware, and ransomwares. These types of cyberattacks stop access to your computer and interrupt the entire system. In fact, malware can subtly transfer information from your storage. Phishing: phishing is the most common form of cyberattacks. In 2022 alone, 84% of organisations were the target of at least one phishing attempt. Like the name suggests, cybercriminals “fish” for sensitive and personal data of victims with false emails that impersonate a trusted source. E.g., an email from a bank that asks for credit card details to correct one or more issues with the client’s account. Also, some also install malware. Man-in-the-middle attack: here, cybercriminals, i.e., hackers, squeeze themselves into an online transaction between two people. Denial of service: For this type of cyberattack, hackers overwhelm a computer and network with “handshake” processes. Eventually the network breaks down and users are unable to access it. Trojan: This form of attack imitates the famous Trojan horse. Cybercriminals present malicious software under the guise of a “harmless” file. Afterwards, the malware establishes itself as a channel for them to attack the system. So, what is the importance of cybersecurity services? If you’re a business owner still contemplating the importance of cybersecurity, here are reasons to consider an investment in cybersecurity. The Sheer Amount of Cyberattacks On average, 30,000 websites are hacked daily; a company gets attacked every 39 seconds, and an estimate of 60% of organisations have experienced a data breach. With these statistics in mind, the chances that your organisation will be exempt are extremely low. As a matter of fact, the right question isn’t “if” but “when.”. Now, the number of attacks as a problem can be solved with just any security measure. But their complexity makes it even worse. Cyber threats take various forms and require different types of cybersecurity measures to combat them. Financial Implications According to the bureau statistics, financial losses to cybercrimes come close to $12.5 billion in 2022. This proves the validity of cybersecurity in today’s world. Apart from the money cybercriminals loot, organisations part ways with another massive amount of money to rectify whatever damage they—criminals—caused. For instance, data subjects might file a lawsuit against the company in accordance with data laws like the NDPA. Also, the fortification of the initial channels breached cuts a huge hole in the business’ pockets. Reputational Damage. Would you trust a partner who betrayed you? Would you place money in an investment known to constantly fail? And would you walk the path infested with bandits?. Most likely, you answered no to the questions.The consequences of a successful data breach include loss of customer trust. As a matter of fact, some businesses never recover from the reputational damage of a cyberattack. Thus, the importance of cybersecurity services shines through. As a business, the implementation of a strong cybersecurity system will prevent this situation in the first place. In addition to the major importance of cybersecurity services, here are some other advantages of cybersecurity services. Boosts productivity: A solid cybersecurity system reduces the downtime caused by data breaches. Therefore, productivity levels go up. Encourages remote workspace: Many organisations shy away from remote work modes due to their vulnerable nature. But, with cybersecurity, the risks are minimal. GDPR compliance: Cybersecurity encourages compliance with data protection laws like the GDPR, NDPA, etc. since it encompasses the protection of personal data. Disadvantages of Cybersecurity Services Cybersecurity also comes with downsides. Some of which are mentioned below: Regular updates: The constant evolving nature of cyberthreats does not permit a stagnant cybersecurity system. As the threats evolve, so does cybersecurity, which needs regular updates—an outdated system = cyberattack channel. Complex set-up: To set up cybersecurity, organisations need qualified personnel certified in cybersecurity. Constant monitoring: Cybersecurity needs to be checked and enhanced regularly so as to discover chinks in the system. Cost: Considering the shortage of talents and the cybersecurity tools required, the total cost of implementing cybersecurity is expensive. As a result, many organisations forgo it. Conclusion Prioritizing cybersecurity is no longer optional but a necessity for sustainable business operations. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures helps protect sensitive data, maintain operational continuity, prevent financial loss, and preserve the company’s reputation.
