In fact, data breaches in the US<\/a> have increased almost tenfold over the last two decades. One of the worst data breaches to date? The 2018 security breach of Apollo (a sales intelligence company) which resulted in more than nine billion compromised data points. \ud83d\ude2f<\/p>\n But losing data records is just part of the havoc that can come from cybersecurity crimes. Your business can also face legal and financial consequences due to a cyber attack. Just ask the credit agency Equifax. The company agreed to pay a $575 million settlement following a data breach in 2019. In other words, cybersecurity attacks are real, and they\u2019re expensive. They can cause you to lose sensitive data, proprietary information, and a lot of cash. If you\u2019re ready to rethink how your organization can stay safe online in 2023, we have a few tips up our sleeve that can help you establish a baseline. Ready to learn more? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n The average cost per data breach in the US is almost nine and a half million dollars<\/a>. While no business operates perfectly, those that fail to harness the power of cybersecurity measures could be looking at facing serious consequences down the line.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, if you decide to find buyers for your business<\/a> one day, your organization\u2019s security could contribute to your company\u2019s overall worth. That means, if you\u2019re not set up to prevent and mitigate cybersecurity crimes, you could be looking at a lower business valuation. From protecting your brand\u2019s net worth to preventing data leaks, viruses, and phishing attacks, there are endless reasons why cybersecurity matters. With that in mind, let\u2019s take a look at three ways you can keep your business safe in 2023.<\/p>\n Make a habit of conducting regular cybersecurity health check-ups<\/a>. You can use tools to run automated health check-ups, run through your processes manually, and\/or ask a cybersecurity specialist to handle routine scans for you.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to host regular team cybersecurity<\/a> training sessions to keep your entire organization on the same page. If you\u2019re not equipped to host training sessions, hire a cybersecurity expert to handle them for you. Be sure to also send updates to your employees as your company standards change. Notify them of any recent scammers or scams they should be on alert about \u2014 along with what to do if faced with a potential threat.<\/p>\n Working inside of cloud-based<\/a> systems may help prevent cybersecurity crimes for three crucial reasons. For one, you can store your system data in the cloud in triplicate \u2014 that means you\u2019ll still have access to your system regardless if a natural disaster happens or if your data center experiences a server failure. Working in the cloud also means maintaining less hardware<\/a>, resulting in fewer points of entry for cyber criminals to target.<\/p>\n And finally, with cloud solutions, the information that travels between your devices to the cloud is fully encrypted. In other words, if someone attempts to access your data, they\u2019ll need an encryption key to see it. Here are a few cloud based tools you might want to consider;<\/p>\n Google Tools For Everyday Tasks: <\/strong>You\u2019re probably all too familiar with Google tools<\/a> already \u2014 but did you know you can use them to run a full host of business processes? From accounting to training to marketing, the sky\u2019s the limit with the Google gods. And the best part is, most of these online tools are free!<\/p>\n ActiveCampaign For Sales Customer Relationship Management (CRM): <\/strong>Manage your prospect list and customer relationships using a safe sales CRM<\/a> tool, like ActiveCampaign. You can also use ActiveCampaign to score leads and send segmented, automated email marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n Plus for data capture and management: <\/strong>Capture, see, and share important information from all of your apps with Plus<\/a>. An especially useful tool for setting up recurring dashboards and presentations.<\/p>\n TSplus for remote control and support: <\/strong>Equip your IT and customer service teams to resolve tech issues and provide support faster with TSplus \u2014 a common TeamViewer alternative<\/a>. And that brings us to\u2026<\/p>\n Consider using a colocation data center, a space for servers and other computing hardware, to support your business apps and workloads in-house. It\u2019s also wise to learn data storage<\/a> and management best practices, such as how long to hold on to data and what legal policies you need to be aware of \u2014 share these with your team, too! You can also work using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)<\/a> which keeps your data stored safely within a protected tunnel. Don\u2019t forget to also enlist the help of other cybersecurity tools, too, like virus protection software and firewalls.<\/p>\n Data breaches in the US have continued to snowball over the last two decades, making business safety online a key consideration for modern businesses. From losing pertinent data records to facing legal and financial consequences, cybercrimes can cost businesses millions of dollars (looking at you, Equifax!).<\/p>\n That\u2019s why taking the time to create a cybersecurity plan is so important. If you\u2019re serious about keeping your business safe in 2023, we hope today\u2019s article has given you the insight you need to make it happen. While the tips we shared today are just scratching the surface, they can help you establish a cybersecurity baseline.<\/p>\n For good measure, here\u2019s a quick recap of the tips we shared today:<\/strong> That\u2019s it for now, friends. Stay safe in cyberspace!<\/p>\n Author Bio: <\/strong>Shane Barker<\/a> is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Content Solutions<\/a>, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Business Safety Online In 2023 Did you know that 74% of US organizations experienced a successful phishing attack in 2020? That\u2019s up from 65% just one year prior. For perspective, only 56% of organizations in Japan experienced a successful phishing attack that same year. In fact, data breaches in the US have increased almost tenfold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Cybersecurity Matters<\/h4>\n
![\"Statistic:](\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/graphic\/1\/273575\/us-average-cost-incurred-by-a-data-breach.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center>1. Conduct Regular Cybersecurity Health Check-ups and Host Team Training Sessions<\/h4>\n
2. Work Using Cloud-Based Systems<\/h4>\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.fastmetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/03\/Google-Tools-Available-Online-For-Free-1024x584.jpg\")
<\/center> <\/p>\n3. Store Data Safely<\/h4>\n
Wrap Up<\/h4>\n
\n1. Conduct regular cybersecurity health check-ups and host team training sessions
\n2. Work using cloud-based systems and SaaS tools
\n3. Store data safely<\/p>\n