Prevention better than cure | Data Loss  

Data loss – Prevention is Cheaper and Better than the Cure

When it comes to potential threats that could cost your business thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of Rands, “don’t worry about it” may not be the best strategy.

Yet that’s exactly what some business owners say about data security.

As the South African economy becomes increasingly digital, companies are processing unprecedented amounts of personal data and the potential for cyberattacks has never been greater. Considering the astronomical amounts that cybercriminals have been demanding from ransomware victims, investing in cybersecurity is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

how can you “lose” your data?

Data loss can happen to anyone regardless of the size of their business and it can be lost in a multitude of ways from a malware infection to a device malfunction. While some of the circumstances are unpredictable and difficult to prevent, others are most definitely avoidable, but one thing is for certain – prevention is better than cure.

Implementing data loss prevention best practices and keeping your employees up to date with your prevention strategy can lower your risk of human error, which accounts for almost 25% of data breaches.

Prevention is better than cure

A cyberattack can wreak havoc in your business as you scramble to protect sensitive customer information, payment details, and confidential information about your products and services.

At the same time, the reputational damage your business could suffer, will persist for months or years into the future. Finally, the Protection of Personal Information Act requires businesses to report data leaks and breaches to the relevant authorities, and failure to do so could land your business on the wrong side of the law.

With the potential to lose anything from thousands to millions of rand in actual losses and brand damage, as well as possible legal action from customers who have been affected by the data breach or ransom ware attack, investing a small amount of money in security each month makes excellent business sense.

There are very few small businesses in South Africa that would feel comfortable operating without a physical security system and armed response, yet many of the same business owners have been shrugging off the risk of cyberattacks for more than a decade. With the number of these attacks set to double over the next few years, now is the time to be proactive and secure your business online.

To learn more about secure cloud storage and how it can keep your company data safe and encrypted, view our package of cloud storage solutions today.