Myth #2: We’ll Just Deal With A Data Breach When It Happens

Myth #2 is one we often hear. “We’ll just deal with a breach when it happens.” Unfortunately, once you are breached or infected with Ransomware, it might be too late and too costly to recover. If your business is data-dependent, preventative measures are safer and more cost effective than reacting to a data breach or Ransomware attack after it happens.

Hidden Costs of a Data Breach

• Breach Notification Costs: All customers that are breached will need to be notified. Normally, this is a mailout.
• Lost Productivity: Employees may have no or limited ability to continue their duties.
• IT Support/Investigative Costs: Attempts to recover your data after a Ransomware attack can be staggering, with little chance of success. Even with excellent backup/disaster recovery solutions, it takes time to recover your data. Forensic investigations also can be extremely expensive and time consuming.
• Loss of Trust: Many organizations lose a significant percentage of their customers after a data breach. Consumers have increasingly turned away from businesses that fail to protect their data.
• Regulations: State and Federal regulators and legislators are developing breach prevention laws in an attempt to protect data from hackers. Many of these have penalties attached for negligent handling of data.

Risk Assessment

At bare minimum, have an IT/cyber-security specialist evaluate your network. A risk assessment can identify the threats to your business data, and provide a list of best practices to prevent an attack. Layered security can be achieved on a budget. If you are in the Tampa Bay area, make A Better Choice for your business IT needs.