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As companies store more of their clients’ data online, they are increasingly becoming vulnerable to cybercriminals. As a result, businesses are suffering significant losses due to cyber-threats and cyber-attacks. Attackers are targeting both small and big business with a significant online presence. Several factors contribute the high cost of cybercrime, with each factor attributable to poor attention on the best cybersecurity practices. This is largely occasioned by the lack of knowledge about the best cyber security practices. Therefore, it is important that organization consider hiring cybersecurity consulting services to help them establish perfect cybersecurity strategies.
Meanwhile, it is important for organizations to understand the effect of cybercrime on the businesses. Read on to find out the essential ways in which cybercrime may impede businesses today.
What are the effects of cybercrime on businesses?
Following are the ways in which cybercrimes may affect your business:
- Economic costs
Cybercrimes could cost your business economically for various reasons. For example, if corporate information and intellectual property is stolen and shared with your competitors, you are likely to lose your competitive edge, resulting in lower revenues and profits. Additionally, cyber-attacks that cause trading disruption affect the performance of a business. Sometimes, the cost is direct as is the case of ransomware, which prevents employees from accessing systems until the firm pays off the hacker. In the same way, the need to restore and repair damaged systems adds to the costs of a business.
- Reputation cost
Although this is quite difficult to quantify, reputational cost occurs when a company falls victim of cybercrime. The brand equity of the business is significantly tarnished through poor media publicity, and consumers may lose trust in the organization. This may result in the loss of both current and potential clients to competitors. For example, Target experienced a hit in its reputation following a 2013 breach entailing credit card data of over 40 million clients. Professional cybersecurity services will protect you from this cost.
- Regulatory costs
Various data breach laws imply that your company may fall prey of regulatory sanctions and fines due to cybercrime. More over, organization may need to hire lawyers to help them remain compliant with the cybersecurity regulations. Cybersecurity consulting services may be additional costs that the organizations need to remain compliant. In case a company is a victim of a cyber-attack, it may have to spend even more money for the attorney’s fees as well as damages due to a civil case against the business.
- Changed business practices
The effect of cybercrimes extends beyond the financial impact. Due to the imminent threat of cyber-attacks, some organizations have had to rethink their approach to data collection and storage to make sure their customers’ sensitive information is not vulnerable. Several businesses have stopped storing the personal and financial information of their clients. Some organizations have closed down their online shops because of the worry that they may be unable to offer protection against the cyber-attacks. Some of these changes may have indirect effects on the financial performance of companies. Cybersecurity services help you develop effective strategies to protect sensitive information, without necessarily disrupting business operations.
The Bottom Line
Cybercrimes are quite costly to businesses. However, some organization do not handle the problem with the seriousness it deserves. Ignorance on the impact of cybercrime is at the center of this. To address this problem, cybersecurity consulting services could help organizations not only to understand potential threats and effects, but also ways to avert them.
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