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5 ways small businesses can be affected by a cyber security
breach
A large-scale cyber security breach is hugely damaging for any organization, and with hackers
becoming increasingly sophisticated, the chances of getting caught out are constantly growing.
No one is safe from attack either; companies hit by cyber crime during 2016 include behemoths
such as Yahoo, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and AdultFriendFinder. For such a sizeable business, the
damage to customer relationships and public image can be extremely costly, but ultimately
they’ll survive. For a smaller company on the other hand, a security breach can be utterly
devastating – yet they are no less likely to fall victim to such an event.
How do cyber breaches impact companies?
There are a number of factors that can dictate the effect of a breach on a business, such as the
nature and timing of the attack, the industry that the company works in, its size, and location.
Consider how a financial institution might be affected as compared to a car manufacturing
company, or the importance of keeping a social network’s user data safe in contrast to a mailing
list for a small technology firm. Having said this, there are a number of concerns that should
always be kept in mind when assessing and securing your company’s online presence. Here,
we list the top five business impacts of a cyber security breach:
1: Damaged reputation
If a company has worked hard to build and maintain a positive public image, the last thing it
needs is to suffer a loss of faith from customers, suppliers, investors, and even potential
employees because of a cyber attack. And if the press covers the story widely, the damage to
the brand’s reputation can have a knock-on effect lasting way beyond the time it takes to fix the
security issue itself. People need to feel safe in order to do business, and if they’re
uncomfortable with an organization’s ability to keep their data and resources secure, they’ll
likely look elsewhere.
2: Loss of assets
There are a number of valuable resources that cyber criminals might target, including money,
data, and intellectual property. A monetary theft from a high-profile organization may provide a
big financial reward, but there are also advantages to raiding smaller companies, who tend to be
easier to target as they lack the resources to protect themselves adequately. While stealing
money seems obvious, data can often be worth far more to cyber thieves, who can make
creative use of valuable information or simply sell it on the dark web. Login details for hotel
loyalty programs and online auction accounts can sell for anything from $20 to $1400, and
credentials for PayPal and other online payment services can go for hundreds of dollars. The
loss of copyrighted material and protected developments can potentially be even more
damaging to a company though, putting years of investment in R&D to waste and compromising
the value of new products or ground-breaking technologies.
86 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – June 2017 Edition
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