Technological advancements have brought us, in addition to solutions that facilitate our daily lives, various threats that can harm businesses. Organizations are constantly vulnerable to scams and attacks that cause significant damage to their image and reputation in the market. One example is the leakage of information which, besides harming clients and partners, damages a business's institutional image . For this reason, risk management should be a priority.
It is necessary for companies to adopt a contingency plan to help deal with this type of event. A risk management plan has gone from being an option to becoming a priority for companies of all sizes and sectors.
Even the simplest incident can affect a business's results and directly impact its growth. Even contamination by a virus or malicious software has the potential to turn into a real crisis, making it necessary for the company to prepare to deal with this type of situation.
Any business that relies on technology to maintain its operations needs to prioritize information security. The number of cybercriminals is increasing daily, making it crucial to understand how risk management can help your company and ensure its reputation remains intact.
There are numerous types of cyberattacks that can harm a business. Depending on the cybercriminal's objective, the attack may be directed towards:
- Information theft;
- Leak of confidential data;
- Contamination of devices used by the company;
- Data theft;
- Interruption of activities;
- And much more.
Security breaches have a huge impact on a business's image and cost, as it will be necessary to cover potential ransom demands, device maintenance , and other measures to repair the damage caused.
Famous cases of data breaches
In recent years, cyberattacks have gained significant visibility, mainly due to the impact caused by these actions. Below are some companies that suffered this type of attack and had their image severely damaged in the market:
In June 2012, the social network LinkedIn suffered a data breach that resulted in the exposure of data from more than 117 million users. Cybercriminals leaked personal data, emails, and login passwords.
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica
Cambridge Analytica obtained data from 50 million Facebook users, using this information to illegally conduct numerous behavioral tests for the campaign of former US President Donald Trump.
HERE
In 2018, C&A suffered a massive data breach, with 2 million customer records being leaked.
Amazon
In 2021, Amazon was fined €746 million by the Luxembourg National Data Protection Commission for data protection failures.
The impact of lack of security on the internet.
Failing to invest in information security ends up being much more expensive than allocating resources to this type of protection. This is because the consequences of cyberattacks ultimately force the company to bear the costs of the measures necessary to resume its operations . Unfortunately, most companies only understand the importance of risk management when they experience such a situation.
Due to the immense demand for fast and efficient information exchange, businesses have been adopting technologies that enable the management of this data. These tools are constant targets of cybercriminals, who seek ways to steal information and generate profits through data theft.
Preventive information security solutions help maintain a business's compliance and ensure that the company does not suffer the impacts caused by cyberattacks. Below are the main problems faced due to a lack of efficient risk management:
Information theft
Data theft is among the main problems caused by failing to invest in information security. Besides making this data inaccessible to the business, cybercriminals can also demand a ransom payment to ensure the company recovers this information.
This type of cyber fraud, in addition to causing substantial financial losses for the business, can also cause immense damage to the company's reputation. This is because its image will be harmed in the eyes of its competitors and consumers.
Lack of confidentiality of information
Investing in measures that help increase data protection is an essential step for companies to comply with the General Data Protection Law . This legislation established rules regarding the need to protect confidential and sensitive data of clients, partners, and employees.
Failures in this process, in addition to impacting the company's image, can also lead to penalties from the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) regulatory authorities . These penalties can range from warnings and suspension of activity to exorbitant fines. In any case, this punishment will harm the company and its growth.
Interruption of activities
One of the punitive measures established by the General Data Protection Law is the interruption of business activities. Furthermore, the seizure or blocking of a company's data can prevent it from remaining operational until a solution is found .
Cybercriminals, through a scam known as ransomware , seize or block data, demanding that the victim company pay a ransom. Companies of all sizes have suffered from this type of scam, and in many cases, it has been necessary to pay this extortion to recover the seized information.
Loss of contracts
A breach of trust caused by information security problems can lead a company to stop doing business in the market. Once its reputation has been damaged by this security failure, it is very difficult to overcome the problem and regain its competitive position.
Losing contracts will cause your business to stop growing and ultimately regress in its competitive position. Investing in risk management will help the company deal with these problems more intelligently and avoid the damage caused by cyber threats .
Information leak
Like other security problems, data breaches can also negatively impact a business's image with its clients and consumers. If we analyze the situation from a potential client's perspective, we can understand how a company that has suffered a security breach may not be the best option for doing business.
Our personal data is extremely valuable, and it is necessary to have a high level of trust when exchanging this type of information with companies.
Corporate espionage
There is data stored by companies that is directly related to their business strategy and actions. Making this type of information publicly available will bring numerous problems to the business.
Competitors can gain an advantage in the market by understanding your corporate strategy . For this reason, it is essential to have resources that help protect this information and prevent cyber threats of this type from reaching your devices and networks.
How to implement effective risk management.
As we have seen, having a risk management protocol is essential to dealing with the main problems caused by cyber threats. Although many companies perform risk management informally, it is necessary to have a well-founded risk management system built on a solid methodology.
It is important to remember that the risks to which companies are subject can come from both external and internal sources. This is because certain behaviors and attitudes adopted by users can make information vulnerable to digital threats.
Taking this into account, we can understand that it is necessary for employees to understand the importance of adopting a preventive stance against these threats surrounding the internet. To establish efficient risk management, it is necessary to follow some basic steps, as we will see below:
- Planning: At this stage, managers must determine how risk management should be carried out within the company. This is the time to choose the methodology to be applied and what tools are available for this risk management.
- Identification: Based on well-structured research, managers must determine the risks to which the company is subject , taking into account external and internal threats. This will allow for the assessment of all uncertainties and aspects that may impact the business.
- Qualitative analysis: once the main risks that could affect the company have been determined, it is necessary to determine the probability and impact they may have on the organization . With this information, managers can classify these risks according to their priority and potential for harm.
- Quantitative analysis: following the same line of reasoning established by qualitative analysis, it is necessary to transform data into precise and consistent information to investigate the probability and impacts that may be caused.
- Response planning: at this stage, managers should establish which strategies should be adopted in the face of a threat. This planning will help the company deal with problems sensibly and efficiently should they occur.
- Monitoring: Once a risk management plan is established, the company needs to constantly monitor the adequacy of preventive measures and expected behaviors. This makes it easier to prevent problems from occurring.
Make the most of what technology has to offer.
Technology has brought us tools and resources aimed at greater practicality and efficiency in processes. It is important for companies to know how to use these resources to their advantage to ensure superior and smarter performance. There are automation tools that can help in risk management, error reduction, and process efficiency.
Technology can be used to help avoid both external and internal problems. Password management tools are one example. Through them, managers can address some of the main causes of digital vulnerability within businesses, such as creating easily guessed passwords, leaks of written passwords, and insecure password storage, among others.
Considering that many security gaps within a company can be caused by inappropriate behavior of certain employees when using the internet, an access control may be the solution your company is looking for. The internet is full of threats and pitfalls that can cause serious security problems, and controlling access with this tool can make all the difference in managing your business risks.
Unauthorized access during work hours can create vulnerabilities that facilitate the actions of cybercriminals. Through these security gaps, these criminals are able to infiltrate networks and corrupt systems, causing numerous losses.
Internet access control and security tools
There are several solutions and tools on the market designed to control internet access. These resources can help your company keep its employees safe from problems and ensure that information is more secure.
These optimized tools, designed to improve access management within your organization, such as Lumiun Box and Lumiun DNS , can be valuable allies in your risk management process. With the right tool , your company will be able to manage access during working hours and prevent employees from exposing their information due to cyberattacks.
No matter how familiar this employee is with digital tools, there is a strong possibility that, unknowingly, they could end up facilitating the actions of these criminals and exposing the confidential information stored by their company.
Contact us and discover the best tool to ensure more efficient risk management within your company. Internet insecurity is an aspect that should be a priority for your business, in order to avoid the major problems it can cause.
Until later!
