What are the consequences of being hacked?
In our previous blog, we discussed the tell-tale signs of how to know if your computer has been hacked. Are you aware, however, of the malicious costs involved if your business has fallen victim to these attacks? It’s vital to know the hidden and ongoing costs of data breaches. Here are a few of the hard, but common realities of life after a hack.
It is a long road to recovery
From the moment a cyber-attack gets into your system, things get expensive, and the longer the attack goes, the more it costs. The latest stats reveal that most breaches aren’t identified for around 191 days, then it can take on average another 66 days to contain the damage.
The long arm of the law
Depending on what data was stolen and how you handled the situation, you could be liable for large fines. The leaking of medical data or legal files is a particularly messy scenario, with fines coming from multiple sources. In any case, new privacy laws mean businesses are liable for massive fines if they don’t disclose a data breach, even if only email addresses were stolen.
Expenses and more
Unfortunately, your customers may lose trust and take their business elsewhere. To offset this, many businesses need to engage PR experts, spend more on advertising, and endure many more expenses. Even so, this problem could still come up in search results for many years. The more negative publicity your breach attracts, the more you’ll need to spend on customer retention.
How to protect your business from being hacked
Rest assured, ITM Tech will secure your systems against the unknown with our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans. We can help make sure your systems have the latest security patches and that your cyber security software knows the latest tricks to watch out for.
Ready to secure your business against breaches? Contact us here. Among many services, we offer;
- Security Audits
- Online Staff Training
- Pen Testing
If you have any other concerns in this area, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Whatever your needs may be, both now and moving forward, we’re here to help keep your company’s data safe.
