The False Sense of Cyber Security

“It’ll never happen to us.”

“Our company is too small for hackers to even consider.”

Do these words sound familiar? Perhaps they are the very words you yourself have spoken in the past. And it is not at all surprising. The problem is that many small companies all too easily overlook their cybersecurity. Generally, they will have more than one reason to say no, although the biggest reason they are not interested has a lot to do with price.

Online security comes with a certain price tag, depending on the nature of your security needs. A small or medium-size business does not always budget for such an expense. But when the price of a cyber-security system is compared to the overall costs related to a breach, you can quickly realise that the sooner you have the right security in place, the better.

The second big reason why someone might opt out of cybersecurity is that they have never had a problem. After all, if you haven’t had a problem up until now, who is to say that you will ever have a problem? The big downside to this way of thinking is that it leaves your company utterly unprepared for what might be.

About the Budget

That initial estimate is often a shock to the system. But as we’ve said, just one big attack could very nearly bankrupt you in your attempt to remedy the damage done. In fact, plenty of companies never recover from the attack. The financial costs incurred and the complete damage in the confidence in your company can have long-lasting effects.

It is always a great idea to do your research and a little shopping around. Your journey towards better online safety is not something easily remedied with a single product. Instead, it is a mixture of knowledge, training, facts, planning and a system.

Assessing your needs

The entire process begins with an assessment of your needs. Of course, the big outcome of any security you implement will be full coverage that protects your company. But it has to deliver in other ways as well. During the assessment phase, you need to look for these deliverables in the system you choose.

Here are just a few of the deliverables:

• Identify any gaps in your cyber security and have a number of defined steps to correct the issue.
• Rank your vulnerabilities according to how critical they are.
• A specific plan of action which should include policies and training materials.
• Situational awareness for real situations going forward.

A reliable plan of action will have you covered in every way. Your staff will be more knowledgeable and you won’t have to worry about losing money should someone attempt to damage your company.

OnGuard is one of South Africa’s best security product companies. While we don’t cater to online security measures, we do recognise the need for every company to have some form of cybersecurity.