Cyber Security as Competitive Advantage

Cyber security may initially come to mind as a defensive position, but having strong cyber resilience can actually be a competitive advantage, especially when it’s at the forefront of your operations and embodies a commitment to customers. Now more than ever, customers are attuned to the impact of security threats to their own data. They also have a tendency to gravitate toward businesses that offer data security assurances versus those that don’t. You don’t have to be a cybersecurity company–you just have to care about it and express that you’re following best practices. Having good cyber security not only protects your business from threats and breaches–which could be costly due to outages and remediation–but also boosts your brand. The following are some cybersecurity best practices that will build your resilience in a way that allows you to stand out from the crowd.

1. Houseclean cloud-based apps.

One of the challenges with using the cloud is also one of the key benefits–it’s very convenient. If a business wants to spin up an internal application or a service for a limited time, it’s very easy and quick to do so with cloud resources. For example, if you wanted to quickly add an app for a temporary business campaign, it’s very easy. However, often when the campaign is over, organizations forget to disable that application. And if it wasn’t decommissioned, it’s still available and could be a vulnerability. Businesses need to be aware of their cloud footprint at any given time in order to ensure that unused applications are removed. This added level of scrutiny and validation ensures you aren’t leaving your business and customers vulnerable to leaky, unused cloud apps that could cause a customer data breach.

2. Stop threats before they cause customer disruption.

Phishing and ransomware remain the biggest threat to businesses of all sizes, making web security to block these sites essential. The number of blocks from newly registered malicious domains increased nearly 13 times since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And although most employees are familiar with phishing and ransomware threats, it’s still a place where cybercriminals are multiplying the number of messages they send and the ways to influence employees to click on malicious links. DDoS attack traffic has also significantly increased over the last six months. During these attacks, businesses are not able to serve their customers online, transact with supply chain partners or interact with their employees. This prolonged disruption translates to loss. These threats aren’t new, but the volume continues to increase over time. Stopping these threats before they get to the customer will prevent potentially costly interruptions for the customer.

3. Educate employees.

Training and educating your employees on cyber security best practices can have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Educating employees and establishing a company culture around reverence for customer data and privacy will have a positive impact on an overall customer-first mindset. This is especially important to reinforce with a more remote workforce. As we’re in the work from home norm, you don’t always have the same cues that you would if you were in the office. Being diligent about pausing before clicking on something may be interrupted by little ones tugging at your leg or your first grader needing help connecting to his or her remote classroom. Regularly reminding employees about the many phishing campaigns from these targeted malicious sites will keep them on high alert, no matter what.

4. Consider a managed security partner.

Many organizations have had to reduce staff due to business downturns, which can result in a scarcity of skilled cyber security talent. In order to fill the gaps, companies can benefit from