Improved Cybersecurity Can Protect Economy
Malicious cyber activities cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and $109 billion every year. These figures are expected to grow as the economy starts to include all of the losses incurred by small businesses from cybercrime.
As economists highlight the possibility of recession, it is crucial for all of society to assist small businesses from becoming a contributing factor. Here are few things that need to be done.
Government supported tax incentives – the government is already trying to secure our borders, financial system and air travel. Now, it needs to help in securing the digital environments of all those who are unable to do so on their own. A good place to start is to provide tax incentives to encourage innovation as well as to help small businesses realize the importance of network security. Incentives are an effective way of producing results without having to implement regulations and not having to force firms to react. In many instances, the government has leveraged tax deductions and rebates to encourage certain behaviors that are unlikely to be seen otherwise, just like with electric vehicles and solar power.
Lower Cyber Insurance Premium – small businesses can benefit from having cyber insurance if the event of a cyberattack since the damages the result from it are generally excluded from general liability policies. If small businesses do not have coverage, they will have no choice but to deal with ransoms, data loss, damages, as well as other liabilities. But, several small firms are priced out of cyber insurance market these days. Aside from that, the policies don’t cover the main attack vector, which is email phishing. If making insurance widely available is in the horizon, there is a need to request assistance from the federal and state government through tax deductions and grants. This is a small price to pay when compared to how the economy will suffer if small businesses continue to fall victim to cyberattacks.
Improved organizational awareness - small businesses also have the responsibility to raise awareness in their company and to improve their defenses. A study revealed that less than 20% of small businesses said they were confident in their cybersecurity and those that had a well defined cybersecurity strategy didn’t reach 50%. Performing a third party security evaluation that will identify vulnerabilities is one affordable yet crucial step to take. Once the weaknesses have been determined, a plan can be made on how to deal with these weaknesses and mitigate possible losses in case a cyberattack happens.
Call SpartanTec, Inc. if you need help in setting up the most effective cybersecurity measures to secure your business against the most common online threats.
SpartanTec, Inc.
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 420-9760
https://www.spartantec.com/
