How Secure Is Your Cyber System?

by / Thursday, 11 February 2016 / Published in Safety & Security

Population growth and global competition-fueled by an intertwined global economy-has created business opportunities that weren’t available 15, or even 10 years ago. But with global growth comes real concerns about security, and businesses must take immediate measures to protect themselves. With our world becoming more interconnected through internet access, networking, and cloud data transfer and storage, thieves are learning new and creative ways to steal from all types of businesses, large or small. Besides controlling the very real threat of physical theft, businesses and industry now must deal with a wave of Cyber Attacks aimed at stealing customer data or confidential corporate information.

Recent events reported in the news show that even with large companies – who have invested millions of dollars into their network infrastructure – customer’s data can still be compromised. In early September, Home Depot said that 56 million customer debit and credit cards were at risk after hackers broke into the company’s payment system. This was on the heels of a report that Target had 70 million customers affected by their data breach. These types of cyber-attacks are constantly occurring, and they aren’t just causing big-box stores a headache. Small and medium sized businesses also find themselves fending off attacks from cyber criminals.

These types of attacks place customer’s personal data at risk. Investigators note that in the Target attack, customer’s personal information including: names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses were stolen. Even if only 1 out of 100 customers’ information is used for fraud, this accounts for nearly 700,000 people personally affected from the Target attack alone. Cyber-crime is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing. The Secret Service is investigating these and other high profile attacks, but experts agree the best way to defend against an attack is to prevent it from taking place.

Recently, the Ponemon Institute conducted a global study of U.S. based companies, it showed that cyber attacks were becoming more common, more costly, and taking longer to resolve. The 2014 Cost of Cyber Crime Study shows that while costs associated with cyber-crimes continue to rise, companies can defend themselves, and their customers, through the use of security intelligence technologies. The report showed that the average cost per attack was up 33%, and that all 17 industries included in the study had experienced some form of cyber-crime.

Companies which already have physical safeguards in place to protect themselves and their customers, must now take proactive measures to protect their data online. It’s not just data at risk, denial of service, malicious code, phishing, and infrastructure attacks account for over 50% of intrusions. There are many solutions available for business owners to protect their online data, but finding the right fit for your company should be left to the experts. Security professionals are up to speed on the latest security technology being utilized to protect businesses, and they have a unique insight into what procedures and technology work best. With a little bit of research and expert advice, companies can take the appropriate measures to proactively protect themselves and their customers from online threats and intrusions.

DH Security Solutions is a market leader in Access Control Atlanta, ID Badges, alarm & monitoring, and provides security services for the commercial, education, financial, government, manufacturing and healthcare industries. We maintain in-depth knowledge of each client’s business operations, operating parameters, and customer relations.

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