The cost of cybercrime is still on the rise1 min read

With digital transformation continuing in earnest across industries, cyber criminals are taking full advantage of vulnerabilities and early mistakes. 2021 is another year that cyberattacks, including ransomware, will likely be prevalent as businesses adjust to a post-Covid-19 world. The choice to move permanently to hybrid working or full-time remote working models will necessitate new cybersecurity measures. Without careful consideration and planning, organisations may become victims of costly and damaging cyberattacks.

Recent data from Beaming revealed that in the first quarter of 2021 alone organisations based in the UK faced an 11% increase in cybersecurity incidents. The most commonly targeted services were IoT and file sharing applications.

With ransomware attacks becoming increasingly damaging – Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that businesses will face a ransomware attack every 11 seconds in 2021 – it is important to review not only your processes and third parties, but also the amount and kind of data you’re storing. Streamlining your organisation’s data collection – and ensuring that you’re securely storing only the data that needs to be kept – will go a long way to prevent unnecessary sensitive data from being leaked, as well as complying with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Though it might seem tedious to change these processes, there’s a good business case for it: Cybersecurity Ventures approximates that this year, the costs of ransomware will rise to $20 billion.

After you’ve completed a data audit, it’s time to check in on your third parties and suppliers. Of course, this is a time-consuming task, especially if your organisation has onboarded new third parties over the course of the past year. Using a tool like CyDesk automates this process, giving you ongoing insights and analytics into your cybersecurity and compliance posture across your digital footprint.

Prioritise your cybersecurity this year – your bottom line will thank you!