Why Underinvesting in Cyber Security is Dangerous

In order for executives and CEOs to invest in something, they often want to see a return on investment, which is understandable, but with cyber security the ROI may not be as obvious as with other investments – at least not right away. For this reason, many companies are underinvesting in cyber security services.

Consider cyber protection services as an insurance policy. For example, prior to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Florida hadn’t experienced a serious hurricane in more than 10 years, but that doesn’t mean that homeowners should give up their insurance. We could get hit at anytime and if you aren’t covered, you could lose everything and have no help recouping.

The same thing goes for a cyber attack and having a dedicated IT team. Your company may not have ever been targeted for an attack, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen, especially with the extreme growth in the complexity and occurrence of attacks.

Did you know that in 2016 companies like Yahoo, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Anthem were targeted and suffered major damage due to hacks? Large companies like these can weather attacks like this without losing their businesses, but can yours? When deciding on your cybersecurity and IT budget for the year, you need to remember that it’s not only your (and your customer’s) data that is at risk in the wake of an attack. It’s also the costs associated with recovering the data and the loss of business that may happen due to the breach. In addition, you have to deal with the public perception and fallout, affecting your reputation. In many cases, an attack can bring your entire operation to a standstill if you don’t have a plan and support system in place beforehand.

Many experts suggest spending between 20-25% of your IT budget on cyber security. In 2015, IBM published a study on how much companies should spend. Read the complete study, here.

So what does a cyber security team do in the lull when there are no threats of an attack? They test your vulnerabilities. Where are the cracks? What needs to be fixed to reduce the probability of an attack? Being proactive will save you a lot of money and heartache in the long run.

The recent international “WannaCry” hack, that hit 300,000 victims in 150 countries losing billions of dollars, highlights the underinvestment in cybersecurity, as many of the affected companies could have avoided the incident if they had proper guidance on how to avoid a breach.

Want to learn more about Valeo Networks’s customized services and how we can help you bolster your IT security operations? Give us a call at 800-584- 6844 or email us at sales@saalexIT.com. You don’t want to fall victim to the next big attack.