Continuity Centers

Are You Confident in Your Network Security?

You’ve probably been there before, at least once. Colorful lights rotating off the ceiling and walls. Music that plays a touch too fast, usually on purpose. Singers who are … enthusiastic in their performance. We’re talking, of course, about singing karaoke.

People love to watch amateurs sing, as demonstrated by the host of amateur singing shows on television, from The Voice to American Idol to The X Factor. The singers’ hearts always seem to be in the right place, even if the notes and words sometimes aren’t. At the end of the day, it’s the effort that counts, right?

You might be wondering what all the silly, at times humiliating goodness of karaoke singing has to do with your network security. It’s simple, really.

Amateur performance is fine when it comes to singing karaoke. When it comes to managing your network security? Not so much. You wouldn’t want that sloppy-but-well-meaning guy in the pub singing on your favorite artist’s new record. So why would you want anything but the very best securing your network, which houses your most precious data and trade secrets?

Amateur Network Security is Costly

Cybercrime cost American businesses 1.3 billion dollars in 2016, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report. Hackers are bringing their A-game to the table, and constantly refining their tactics. They no longer depend on their “greatest hits” to get the job done, but are instead developing new and even more effective theft strategies all the time. From ransomware attacks to data breaches to the coming tsunami of vulnerabilities via the internet of things (IoT), it gets harder every day to keep the wolves at bay.

Cybercrime toward small businesses has skyrocketed in recent years, as more and more hackers adopt the understanding that going after a number of smaller, easier-to-breach targets can be more profitable than going after one big, well-protected target. In 2016, as many as half of all cybercrime targets were small businesses. That number is expected to  increase drastically for 2017, once the data is calculated and aggregated.

Cyberattacks cost small businesses between $84,000 and $148,000 per incident, with 60% of targeted small businesses closing up shop for good within six months after the attack. In spite of these buzz-killing statistics, as many as 90% of small businesses don’t use any data protection at all for their client or employee information. Such stats are alarming enough to have anyone singing the blues.

Thus, it’s vital for businesses of all sizes to choose and work with a network security partner who has the experience, talent, and expertise to keep them safe. Every business has unique needs in this area, and those needs change and adapt alongside market and technological conditions.

Going Pro Means Having the Right Partners

Having a professional, experienced partner on your side is the first note that needs to be sung in any company’s success song. Such partners not only help prevent attacks in advance, they can also help develop workgroup recovery plans that keep downtime to a minimum and save thousands of dollars in the event of a worst-case scenario where a successful attack takes place.

With a focused, adaptable plan, network security can have you singing the song of success in the new year, and set your profitability and vulnerability off on inverse trajectories for years to come. Consider making 2018 the year your company’s network security graduates from amateur singer to seasoned professional artist. The results could be the difference in clients singing your praises or saying, “I don’t know dawg. I’m just not feeling it. I don’t think you’re ready for this.”

 

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