Cybersecurity: integrate it into your IT strategy now!

Cybersecurity is defined by Gartner as a practice that displays people, policies, and technology to ensure that organizations, their critical systems, and sensitive information are protected against potential digital attacks. While the words “digital attacks” may seem exaggerated, sadly, they are more common in day-to.day businesses. The term cybersecurity becomes important when considering that organizations have become more vulnerable to their technological threats, because digital information and technology are a fundamental aspect of our jobs. Likewise, the attacks to infiltrate digital information and infrastructure are much more sophisticated.

These type of incidents can cause operational, financial, reputational, and strategic losses. The good news is that cybersecurity will helps us diminish technological attacks and could even build a business culture around itself, which will provide organizations with informative peace of mind.

The consequences of a cybersecurity breach

IBM recognizes a cyberattack as “an unwanted attempt to steal, expose, alter, disable or destruct information through unauthorized access into informative systems”. Some of the consequences of not practicing a cybersecurity culture, could look like:

• Financial loss: Beyond a cost in itself, this topic is an investment. It’s better to protect your business before having to incur the costs of customer compensation, internal & external investigations, legal fees, fines, and others.
• Data loss: Experiencing a cybersecurity breach could potentially result in leaks of sensitive, confidential and protected information, as well as the possibility of losing it altogether. If you have clients, this makes for a very important point.
• Legal penalties: One should always stay up-to-date with the data legislation of the country in which one operates and fully comply. When this isn’t done, the penalties can be severe.
• Reputation damage: This can become a matter of trust. If your customers can’t trust you to protect their information, they may refrain from doing business with your company.

How to create a cybersecurity culture within your company?

While CIOs and IT experts can help reduce the impact of a cyber attack, if there is not a culture in which all employees participate, you will still be exposed to internal and external threats. The weakest link within the cybersecurity chain is the human factors. According to Verizon, 94% of malware is sent through email and around 85% of breaches are correlated with human behavior.

To begin with your security plan and turn it into a culture, keep in mind the following recommendations:

• Assign a leader who can explain, share, and create strategies to communicate the importance of cybersecurity.
• Use effective language that reaches all of your employees, something easy to understand and adapt into your company’s day-to-day.
• Formalize cybersecurity practices and its consequences if they are unfulfilled.

How software development influences cybersecurity

Security should be addressed at the beginning of the planning stage and before the development work begins, instead of waiting on a vulnerability in the software or any other kind of risk to be discovered. This principle goes by Secure Software Development and it involves incorporating security into every step of the product development process.

In conclusion, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Software development can assist in impressive amounts when it comes to maintaining a cyber-secure culture, whether that’s for websites or mobile apps. At NativApps, we develop tailored to your needs, including security in each step of the way. Get involved in the cybersecurity culture and learn more about our services.