How Underinvesting in Cybersecurity is Exposing Philadelphia Businesses to Cyberattacks

The cost of cybercrime continues to rise, reaching over $1 trillion in 2020, as reported by McAfee. Out of this, monetary losses amounted to over $900 billion, and the cost of supplying cybersecurity was about $145 billion.

The expenditure on cybersecurity is expected to increase by about 10% in 2021. This is because firms are trying to strike a balance between losses and expenditures.

Businesses of all sizes and from different industries in Philadelphia have increased their security budgets. However, their approach to cybersecurity has changed. Although most firms acknowledge the threat posed by cybersecurity breaches, they prioritize investing in compliance and risk management.

The pandemic has pushed organizations to adopt cloud-based systems and solutions. This shift to cloud computing has given rise to new cyber threats. They include the hijacking of accounts, unauthorized access, misconfiguration, and insecure interfaces.

There has also been an increase in attacks on third-party supplier systems such as SolarWinds. This means firms must shift their focus to assessing the risk of cyberattacks on third-party suppliers. Besides, the enforcement of data protection regulations requires AI/ML solutions to secure and manage data.

However, with these changes in cyberattack vectors and cybersecurity trends, most firms are still using the same cybersecurity approaches and relying on the same tools and systems they have used over the years. This is underinvestment since these cybersecurity tools and systems no longer meet the needs of today’s cloud security landscape.

It is not If, But When

Every business is at risk of cyberattacks. The question is not if it will happen but when it will happen. Cybersecurity then becomes a cost center for most firms. Firms may resort to reducing their expenditures on cybersecurity to what is absolutely necessary to reduce their cost of operations.

Unlike large firms with high returns, small businesses may lack budgets to invest in cybersecurity or hire dedicated cybersecurity teams. They may shift to compliance-centered efforts. However, compliance alone does not adequately fortify businesses against cyberattacks.

Socially engineered threats preying on human errors to bypass many cybersecurity solutions are also on the rise. Most manipulate users to perform actions or provide information that compromises their security and the organizations they work for.

The human factor accounts for 24% of cyberattacks. However, it contributes to successful malware and phishing incidents that top the list at 31%. Clicking on unsafe URLs, poor password hygiene, and data access using personal devices may expose businesses to cyberattacks.

No matter your cybersecurity budget, you may not adequately mitigate against human errors. This makes it almost impossible to eliminate cybercrimes. However, with better cybersecurity approaches, most organizations can thwart the attacks they experience.

Investing Properly

According to Ameesh Divatia, co-founder and CEO of Baffle, a cloud data protection company, most firms incur costs defending against non-existent threats. Several businesses still invest heavily in solutions that offer security to their physical systems, ignoring the significance of cloud-based storage solutions.

Cloud-based storage solutions would help them eliminate the need for centralized data centers and the cost of protecting against theft of physical data storage devices and systems. However, sometimes the businesses invest in these outdated solutions because of archaic compliance mandates. Firms, therefore, invest in solutions with little or no impact on their security posture.

Sometimes it is hard to quantify the value of a cybersecurity investment since cybersecurity projects are long-term commitments. You may not correlate what you are spending on cybersecurity with your company’s security posture.

However, you can look at the impact your cybersecurity investment has on premiums like data-centric protection. Evaluate the effect that your data protection policy and statements on public data privacy have on your brand. These policies and statements inform your customers about data retention and access to data practices.

Organizations seem to overlook the insignificance of investing in creating human firewalls. They focus on complex software and hardware to secure their systems and devices and underinvest in training employees to identify and prevent cyberattacks seeking to exploit their human nature.

Evaluating your employees’ cybersafety awareness can help you prevent attacks on your systems and data. The easiest way to do so would be through phishing drills in which you send random emails to your employees to gauge their reactions. Cybersafety-conscious employees will shun them, but the vulnerable ones will open them and click on any attachments.

What Has Changed In Security Spending?

In the last 5 years, there has been a shift to cloud-based solutions. Cybercrimes have also shifted to monetization models. There are more ransomware distribution and denial-of-service incidences with a ransom call to them.

Because of this, more firms are investing in endpoint security where they secure their digital devices like laptops, desktop computers, and tablets to detect and disable ransomware and malware before infecting the devices and systems. There is also an increase in investment in securing cloud-based storage to ensure business continuity after a cyberattack.

Most firms cannot afford in-house cybersecurity teams. They outsource this function to consultants. Cybersecurity talent is in short supply, causing firms to compete to acquire and retain cybersecurity experts.

In most cases, small businesses cannot match the compensation that large organizations offer these experts, forcing them to outsource the entire cybersecurity function. This raises the cost of acquiring cybersecurity services as the demand and supply market forces influence the cost of cybersecurity services.

However, the cost of acquiring cybersecurity services is stabilizing. The cost is now lower than the 64% that it was 2 years ago when it had peaked. Most organizations do not anticipate an increase, an indication that the cost may have reached a plateau.

Can Companies Win The CyberSecurity War?

Companies can win the cybersecurity war by investing properly in cybersecurity technology and collaborating with reliable IT service providers to help them with all their day-to-day cybersecurity needs. One such company is Menark Technologies. Menark Technologies guides organizations to invest their money wisely to benefit fully from their cybersecurity investments and keep their systems and data safe.

When you choose to work with Menark Technologies, we help you create an ideal IT set-up for your business, guide you to secure your cloud computing services to help you enjoy secure cloud storage. We offer proactive, personalized network solutions that maximize productivity and minimize downtime. Contact us, and we will help you make the move to the cloud.