Skip to main content

Social media and the internet has managed to infiltrate every household, school and SME within modern society. The internet has indeed changed many aspects of our lives for the better, with commercial benefits such as providing opportunities, enabling growth and development, and increasing financial gain.

Many SMEs are digitally renovating their business processes to avoid lagging behind their competitors. This essential move into increasingly more intricate technology can cause a parallel in their exposure and vulnerability.

Here are three reasons why SMEs should invest in cybersecurity in 2019:

1. Protects your business and customers

A solitary successful attack could not only damage your business but affect how consumers view your company and ultimately direct them to choose an alternative one with greater reliability and credibility. Cyber attacks can ultimately destroy your business’ reputation. All businesses hold a range of data, which can include sensitive information which can easily be accessed if you do not have Cyber Essentials. Businesses that fail to manage a customer’s personal data in accordance with GDPR could experience regulatory sanctions.

2. Keep up to date with new threats

Safeguarding your valuable data should be a priority within your business because failing to comply with modern cyber-security and data privacy laws (GDPR, IASME) can put your clients at massive risk.

Even if you feel that your business is safeguarded, compliant and protected, cyber-attacks are increasing every year and are becoming more sophisticated with the ability to attack the most advanced security systems. Ensuring you get Cyber Essentials Plus or Cyber Essentials certified can ensure you stay on top of advanced threats and keep your business secure.

3. Cyber-attacks are preventable

By maintaining security hygiene and safeguarding within your organisation, and following some principle steps to better protect yourself, you are creating a more secure and trustworthy business for clients. By being Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus certified, both of which are compliant with the Data Protection Act (2018), you can be confident that you are protecting your business and data, and will give your customers added assurance.

Cyber-crime will continue to evolve, with new threats developing every year. As such, your business should be prioritising taking action against potential cybersecurity breaches. However, today the velocity of cyber-attack evolution is far outpacing the level of security that businesses have deployed, so cybersecurity has never been more valuable to SMEs. Remember, a cyber-attack is more a question of ‘when’ not ’if’.