Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the move by countless individuals to work remotely, IT security experts have raised the caution flag about the impact it would have on cybersecurity and network protection. The big question was: Would remote working reduce the ability of a business to identify and remove security threats?
Obviously, most organizations did not have a choice as remote work was the only way to keep their businesses going. Government mandates across the United States urged everyone to telecommute. Most organizations complied without regard to the effect it would have on their network security and many are still working remote without having delved into these considerations.
What did data breach cost in 2020?
Each year, IBM submits a report outlining the “cost of a data breach.” The 2020 release revealed that when most employees work from their private computers, the expense of data breaches went up by $104,000.
While this seems to be only a small increase in the general expense of data breaches, that is in addition to the “normal” $3.9 million in the United States annually.
Further details in the report showed that the average expense of a data breach for each compromised record was $115. This will give you an idea of how much a data breach could cost your business, depending on the type of data and the number of records you store.
How remote working influences the expense of a data breach.
Clearly, the risks of a remote working staff would increase the likelihood and the expense of a data breach. One reason is, without staff working on office premises, it is a lot more difficult to spot when a data breach is occurring as oftentimes anomalies are chalked up as normal glitches relating to being on Wi-fi or VPN.
There is a relationship between the time it takes to react to a breach and its resulting expense. The IBM report determined that the average time it takes to recognize an incident without enhanced network security is 280 days.
The cost to a business is not limited to just the time period before a breach is discovered. It is estimated that 39% of the expenses from a data breach are not even realized as they are hard to quantify such as loss of clients, administrative penalties, and/or loss of productivity.
How to decrease the expense of a data breach.
Businesses will recover from a data breach if they deploy automated software to recognize the breach and other dubious conduct. This software utilizes computerized reasoning and investigation in real-time and could save as much as $2.68 million in data breach costs nationwide annually if all companies took advantage of it.
An average business does not typically have the capacity to recognize cybersecurity incidents and react to them speedily. This reaction time is the difference between a minor interruption and an absolute fiasco resulting in chaos.
Synopsis
The change to remote working requires a fresh review of the greatest risk your company will ever have. But it does not have to be. New technologies are available and affordable for all businesses, and now is the time to understand what those technologies do and how they can protect you in our “new normal” working environments.
For a free cybersecurity assessment, contact us. CMIT Solutions of Cincinnati & NKY has a variety of basic and high-level security services and cybersecurity solutions for your business. Check out this link for more information: CMIT Cybersecurity
Don’t wait to be a victim. Be proactive. Protect your data and have peace of mind.
Call CMIT Solutions of Cincinnati & NKY at 513-594-9169 or visit www.cmitsolutions.com/cincinnati-nky
