Importance of Generating Cybersecurity Awareness In A Business

New Zealand is no stranger to cyber-attacks. The beginning of September witnessed the websites of several financial institutions and the national postal service go down. Earlier in the year, bigwigs like Microsoft Exchange and Reserve Bank of New Zealand were targeted by hackers. The incidents of cybersecurity breaches have been growing, which has become a matter of concern for small and large businesses.

As an entrepreneur or someone who plans to purchase a business for sale in New Zealand, you need to be wary of the threats that can cause a huge financial loss. The advancement in digital technology has enabled hackers from across the globe to gain the upper hand in accessing sensitive information. While the government is doing its bit by investing in digital infrastructure and capabilities, entrepreneurs need to focus on generating cybersecurity awareness to prevent such disasters. Here is why it is important for every organisation to train their staff in cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity Awareness

The current world is plagued by cyber threats that can be damaging for businesses as well as customers. Thus, entrepreneurs need to pay attention to the risks that can escalate into a crisis. Although every organisation has a technical team that is aware of the cybersecurity systems, the employees are not aware of the threats that can impact their business. Since prevention is better than cure, it is imperative that the staff is informed about the potential risks and has the capability of thwarting an attack.

So, they need to be prepared to protect confidential information from hackers by identifying malware, DDoS, phishing, DNS tunnelling, SQL injection and other such cyber-attacks. They should be prepared to safeguard their online data from exploitative attackers. It does not mean that they need to be technically skilled in security systems. It only involves understanding the preventive measures and acting on time to save the confidential business data. An informed workforce can prove beneficial in forestalling data thefts and breaches.

Why Is Cybersecurity Important for a Business?

Every business has its data saved online and on computer systems that are used by the employees every day. From the quarterly financial reports and customer information to inventory and tax returns, everything is saved online. Thus, entrepreneurs need to secure this information because if it becomes public, it can destroy the entity.

• Builds A Secure Organisation

Employees are valuable assets of an organisation, and they need to be trained and skilled in all operations to ensure efficiency and productivity. They should be aware of cybersecurity measures that have become a necessity in the digitally connected world.

If they are not educated about these systems, they may inadvertently violate the protocol and be subjected to huge penalties and loss of their jobs. According to recent research, more than 20% of data violations took place because of a human error.

• Protects from Growing Cyber-Attacks

The annual summary published by Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) NZ reported that the country lost $17 million because of cyber-attacks in 2020. Cybercrime is on the rise and is targeting every small and big entity, whether public or private.

With businesses depending more on automated systems for accounting, payroll management, inventory management, stocktaking, invoicing and payments, their vulnerability to data threats has amplified. It has become extremely vital to safeguard digital operations as hackers have also become organised and use sophisticated scamming techniques that are deceiving.

• Boosts Confidence of Customers

With online transactions becoming the common way of payment for buying goods and services, customers need to trust the business to provide their credit card details and other personal information. They are willing to do business with established brands because of the same reason.

Thus, business owners must create an environment of safety that gives them the assurance of moving forward. If they do not feel that their information will be safeguarded, they will switch to a competitor. So, to retain customers and acquire new ones, marketers must inform them about the security measures implemented by the company to protect their data.

• Avoids Financial Loss

A data breach can cost the business dearly. It not only loses its trusted customer base and goodwill but also a lot of money. It can result in lawsuits if the intellectual property right is infringed, which can cause a lot of disruption. On the other hand, if an employee becomes a victim of a cyber scam, it can lead to the leaking of sensitive project work and passwords that offer access to other files and data.

It is challenging to recover from the detrimental impact of a cyber-attack. Thus, it is sensible to have protective systems in place to reduce the risk of cybercrime and associated financial loss.

How to Implement Cybersecurity Awareness in the Organisation?

1. Regular Staff Training

Basic training for all the employees should be made mandatory as everyone is accessing some part of the information. It will help them to use strong passwords and protected software. The senior management should be a part of this exercise as they are more susceptible to attacks. It should take place every few months and must include recent developments and the latest information.

2. Best Practices Protocol

The employees do not have to master the subject of cybersecurity, so do not provide them with streams of manuals that they find difficult to understand. Give them hands-on training and realistic examples so that they know the benchmarks and follow them perfectly. For example, employees do not take laptops home or cannot access office work from their smartphones or home computers.

3. Have Your Backup Ready

If the business data is lost or wiped out by a hacker, you need to have the backup ready to avoid any disruption or downtime. You can spring back into action without any delay. The cloud-based software has all the business information stored in one place. Thus, the entity must have another secure option to safeguard its classified information.

4. Contingency Planning

Some attacks cannot be anticipated and can catch you unaware. Thus, it is highly recommended that the business should have the resources and cybersecurity team in place to detect the reason for the malfunctioning of systems as quickly as possible and nip it in the bud. The emergency plan should envisage how the company can bounce back after a breach with the least damage and financial loss.

Conclusion

Make sure that the IT team is responsible for creating an awareness program that is easily understood by all employees and helps them to maintain the integrity of systems. If you have recently purchased a business for sale in New Zealand, you must get your team trained to avert cyber-attacks.