Online Buisness
One of the biggest challenges of running an online business is keeping up with privacy and data protection laws. A lot of businesses operate online and collect a wide variety of customers’ data. They use it to process orders and transactions, contact customers, and market their products and services.
These days people are becoming more aware of potential risks tied to revealing their data online. Therefore, companies are struggling to build trust and ensure security for their customers. The implementation of laws such as GDPR and CCPA shows that customer data security has become one of the top priorities for online businesses.
Cybersecurity Statistics: What’s the Risk?
Some of the most important transactions are taking place online. Thus, it has become difficult to avoid the risk of identity and data theft. Each online business payment gateway, newsletter signup, or contact form on a random site can lead to serious security concerns. People are leaving their data everywhere online. It has become nearly impossible to shield yourself from cyberthreats completely.
According to the latest statistics, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 is $3.86 million. A data breach can do even more damage than take a great financial toll on the company. It can also ruin its reputation and cause customers to lose their trust in them. Thus, if you fail to secure customers’ data on your site, you are risking more than just your financial assets.
Cybercriminals can take advantage of poorly secured websites. That is how they steal data from signup forms, contact pages, and checkout pages. They can then use this information in multiple ways. For example, they can organize ransomware attacks and request large sums of money in exchange for the stolen data. Cybersecurity statistics show that there were 188 million ransomware attacks in 2019. Hackers can also sell the data directly to advertisers or anyone on the dark web.
Besides customers’ data, hackers also target internal business plans and forecasts. They later sell that to competitors at high prices. Either way, poor data security leaves plenty of room for hackers to make a profit off of your business. This will cost you both in terms of finances and reputation.
Boost Your Data Security Strategy
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure customers are safe on your website. Statistics show that 72% of customers trust companies to protect their data rather than the government. Here are a couple of tips to boost your data security strategy and avoid potential threats.
#1 Monitoring
Monitoring is a crucial step in any data security strategy. For example, it allows you to spot potential threats in time. Make sure you know where all the received data is stored and whether there are any concerns over storage safety. Also, consider putting together a data security team. They could take care of monitoring on a daily and weekly basis.
#2 Preparation
Being prepared ahead of time can save your business in case of a security attack. Create a plan that will guide your team through the recovery process in the event of a breach. With such a plan in place, everyone on the team should know what to do if the system gets hacked and which steps to take first. Moreover, consider testing your security system to spot any weaknesses that could be exploited.
#3 Compliance
Keep in mind that the policies on your website should comply with consumer privacy acts such as GDPR and CCPA. If you take any other route and fail to comply with these regulations, you’re risking a financial fine and a list of security consequences. Not only will complying with these laws boost your security strategy, but it will also help customers build trust in your business.
#4 Transparency and Updates
Speaking of building trust, it is important to keep your security and data policy transparent at all times. Customers need to know why and how their data is being collected. By providing this information, you will reassure them that their information is safe in your hands. Moreover, make sure to regularly update your policies. Update them in accordance with potential changes in the law or your company’s data security system.
Practice Common Security Measures
Nowadays, modern customers care more about cybersecurity than ever before. People are not likely to reveal their data online unless they are certain that the website in question is fully secure. With that in mind, businesses should make cybersecurity one of their top priorities. This is how they can ensure full data protection.
Common security measures can go a long way when it comes to preventing security threats. Data encryption, integration of firewalls, antivirus software, and two-factor authentication are very beneficial. Consider implementing these measures to boost security on your website. This is also a great way to build trust with your loyal customers.
