Whether it’s antivirus software, firewalls, disaster recovery, data security, or other security measures, it’s safe to say that everyone has heard of cybersecurity. In fact, it’s probably protecting your data in some way right now. So why do we need to talk about it? Why is cybersecurity important?
COMPANIES ALL AROUND THE WORLD ARE DEALING WITH CYBERATTACKS
As digitalization has progressed, cyber threats have increased exponentially over recent years. New technologies like AI not only make work easier for companies and even entire industries, but they also make hacking easier. Cybersecurity has become as important as digitalization itself. According to statistics [1], almost 25% of the global manufacturing industry experienced a cyberattack in 2022, followed by the finance and insurance industry (19%), and professional, business, and consumer services (15%). Things get even worse when we look at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) specifically, which make up the majority of the European economy: A study by the European Commission [2] found that 28% of all SMBs had been the victim of at least one type of cybercrime in 2021.
COMPANIES ARE MAKING LIFE FAR TOO EASY FOR HACKERS
The most common cause of a successful cyberattack is human error: According to data from 2022 [3], 82% of data breaches involved some kind of mistake. It’s clear then that awareness of cyber threats remains low even though the dangers are omnipresent. After all, a staggering 81% of European SMBs don’t offer their employees any cybersecurity training. [2] Perhaps even more shockingly, 77% of companies don’t have a plan in place in the event of an attack. [4] That’s why Telekom Business Europe is on a mission to raise awareness of the dangers of cyberattacks and demonstrate how important data security is for everyone. It’s also why we’re launching a European campaign on cybersecurity. So, let’s talk about why cybersecurity is important.
COMPANIES NEED TO FOCUS ON WHY CYBERSECURITY IS IMPORTANT
Underestimating security risks in your company and at home is a dangerous game. Whether it’s data leaks, DDoS threats, malware, or supply chain attacks, 54% of cyberattacks occur via phishing or spam emails. [5] In the best-case scenario, an attack might mean a short interruption to business, partial data loss or a fine. In more serious cases, however, cyberattacks can even threaten the very existence of a company, e.g., in the event of a loss of data such as contracts, customer databases, business documents, orders, receivables, customer relationships, or liquidation debts due to fraud or stolen assets.
Companies ultimately need to understand the importance of cybersecurity to prevent this from happening. The best first step is to find out how you can implement cyber protection in your company. Cybersecurity concerns anyone connected to the internet. As already mentioned, the most vulnerable part of the system is often the human sitting behind the screen. That’s why it’s vital to build a sense of responsibility among employees because cybersecurity ultimately involves everyone. It’s about responsibility, training, monitoring, and understanding the consequences of an attack. All of this helps increase the cyber safety of your company. When the human link in the chain fails, it’s usually because they are not paying attention and click on the wrong things. But it can also be because our teams are too small and don’t have time to review work, sensitive content is not encrypted, or passwords are not handled properly. However, one of the worst things you can do is put off your data security for later—that’s a recipe for disaster.
CYBER SAFETY THAT FITS YOUR BUSINESS
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, SMB, or large enterprise, a tailored cybersecurity strategy is vital. In our increasingly digital and hybrid business world, a simple firewall and antivirus software simply won’t cut it. You might be wondering though: Why is cybersecurity important to Telekom Business Europe? Because we want to protect companies and keep them connected. That’s why we rely on a holistic cybersecurity strategy that includes an IT security check, regular scanning, and updating of all systems as well as raising awareness and training employees in security issues and recovery tools. We use our IDENTIFY-PROTECT-DEFEND (IPD) model to create your unique cybersecurity roadmap. Plus, our custom business IT security solutions are tailored to the size of your company, e.g. small business security.
With all that in mind, one thing is clear: Cyber threats are not going away, and cybersecurity will only get more important. But you don’t have to bury your head in the sand. Because despite the risks, we drive cars with seat belts, airbags, and other safety features to protect us in case of an accident. And our custom cybersecurity strategy and awareness-building provide the seatbelts and airbags to protect your company. Because everyone can only understand why cybersecurity is important if everything works together perfectly—allowing you to protect your company together.
Sources:
- Distribution of cyber attacks across worldwide industries in 2022
- SMEs and Cybercrime
- Top cyber threats in the EU
- IBM Study: More Than Half of Organizations with Cybersecurity Incident Response Plans Fail to Test Them
- Most common delivery methods and cybersecurity vulnerabilities causing ransomware infections according to MSPs worldwide as of 2020