“Our only security is our ability to change.” – John Lilly was an American Physician, Neuroscientist, Psychoanalyst, and Philosopher. With all of his varying experiences and professions, he has left us with an interesting take on security. Staying safe and stable is a common goal and often a privilege to many people. Here we can provide cybersecurity before starting a business.
Some people stay safe through comprehensive planning, while others stay safe through professional help. No matter the context, safety is a top priority. This is especially true when you plan to run a business.
Business involves a lot of different factors and outcomes. From the mechanics of a product assembly to the economics of supply and demand, running a business is no joke.
An article from Forbes discusses the importance of the time of year, detailedness of data, and value of a pitch deck, all just as you attempt to earn capital. In the world of business and startups, every detail no matter how small is crucial to the big picture.
Something as small as how you present your business or maybe the time you set your appointments may affect the outcome of a pitch or your investor’s interest.
There are plenty of minor details that lead to major effects, an example of an often overlooked detail is cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is the modern-day padlock to keeping your business safe. It can make or break a business or a startup.
Cybersecurity
This is any form of digital method that attempts to protect oneself from cyber attacks. This can range from simple anti-virus programs to heavy-duty proxies.
The level of cybersecurity depends on the user being protected. For example, the cybersecurity of the government of Russia is stronger than a simple iPhone at a cafe. Cybersecurity adjusts to the attacks that the user will receive.
Cybersecurity is crucial to a businesses’ safety in today’s world due to the amount of work, data, and processes accomplished online. Every little process that involves a computer or a flash drive that is vulnerable to cyberattacks.
This is no longer the era when you can simply lock the door and hope for the best. Everyone is a target of cyberattacks.
Cyberattacks can target anybody from any sector. There are plenty of industries currently under a constant bombardment of cyberattacks. These industries or sectors need to rely on effective cybersecurity to keep their business safe.
Successful cybersecurity means that they remain safe and stable despite having a giant target on their backs. You may want to check if you belong to any of the industries at risk of a cyber-attack. In doing so, you get a heads up for what you’re signing up for.
Whether your business revolves around education, marketing, or even the arts, cybersecurity is a need in today’s society.
Cybersecurity is gaining importance as more and more processes are done online. As an example, people used to deposit and withdraw money in a physical bank.
Today, however, you can accomplish these tasks through online banking on your phone or maybe withdraw money from a nearby ATM. Technology is constantly progressing and more and so is people’s dependency on it.
With the growing technological advances comes a growing need to protect the technology used. This can be accomplished in different ways. One of the common yet effective methods is the use of proxies.
Proxies
Proxies are cybersecurity measures that involve protecting users from hackers or scammers online. They help make the online world safer for a user. This is accomplished through proxies asking for details online on behalf of the user.
For example, Socks5 proxies help protect businesses and users by making them anonymous in a request. This is accomplished by changing their IP address, this is the online form of a physical address.
Protecting an IP lets users stay safe and provides hackers with little to no information. The Sock5 proxy reroutes the IP of a user and uses the proxies IP on their behalf. This substitute IP lets users stay safe and anonymous along with additional access to geo-restricted content.
Geo-restricted content is sites, movies, or other sources of information that may be blocked by your government but are available in other countries. Proxies do a great job in keeping you secure while letting you do even more than without them.
These proxies are a simple yet effective method to deter malicious cyber attacks.
Why Should Entrepreneurs Take a Look at Cybersecurity
As mentioned, more and more processes are being accomplished online and depend on technology. If you plan to run a business or being a startup then you should seriously consider the following:
1. Vulnerability
Anything that involves a device or being connected to the internet is vulnerable. This vulnerability doesn’t stop at the device alone. This can spread to anything connected or related to the said device.
So one vulnerable computer may become a point of weakness for your entire business. One hacked phone may lead to every customer or business record you have.
Vulnerability to cyberattacks is like a chain, it’s only as strong as the weakest link. This chain extends to every person involved in the business. Maybe, somebody has a personal bone to pick with you, if they can get through your businesses’ cybersecurity then they can get to you.
2. Information Leaks
There are many things that hackers or scammers can do once they get past cybersecurity. One of them involves information. This can range from the business secrets on how to produce a product to their banking information.
Once a hacker gets past cybersecurity then every bit of information is now exposed. Personal information for example can lead to addresses, phone numbers, banking details, and relative information. All of these can lead to even more dangerous attacks.
Cybersecurity for your business or startup also means security for every employee, customer, and person related to them.
3. Identity Theft
Identity theft usually proceeds with information leaks which lead to even more dangerous scams. Identity theft is often discussed with credit card transactions. This scam is simple, hackers pretend to be you and get all of the access that you have.
This can be something as small as your mother’s phone number or something as big as the entire company’s bank account. Identity theft is all about stealing a person’s access and leveraging every bit towards the hacker’s gain.
This cyberattack doesn’t stop in monetary-related areas. This can lead to your entire reputation being ruined. Identity theft can lead to loss of funds, assets, and even trust.
Identity thieves are well aware of the power they hold and may end up blackmailing you for even more money and power.
4. Phishing
This cyber-attack is much simpler but can still lead to the same aforementioned, terrifying situations.
This is also related to identity theft in a way, phishing involves hackers or scammers acting as legitimate organizations. As they pretend to be legitimate organizations, they send dangerous links that can lead to a virus or worse.
Up and coming businesses are most prone to this since they are more likely to lack experience and look for any connection or investor possible. Phishing is essentially a cyberattack in the form of a trap email.
This can easily be avoided with training and having employees be extra careful of scams.
5. Broken Reputation
While this isn’t exactly a cyberattack this is still a reason why people should look into cybersecurity. Especially if you plan to run a business, in the world of business a reputation is detrimental to its success.
Imagine if you wanted to buy a product or hire a service, it is unlikely that you will go to someone that has a horrible reputation. This is the main reason why ratings on app stores exist, the reputation serves as other people’s warnings to future customers.
A rating or a reputation can either make or break your future endeavours with incoming clients. Having tight cybersecurity can make sure that you aren’t vulnerable to any cyber-attacks and keep a solid reputation.
Key Takeaways
Running a business is no joke and it takes a ton of time, effort, and knowledge. Being vulnerable to a cyberattack may have all of your hard work stripped away from you. This is the age of digital supremacy that involves a ton of technological advancements.
Many, if not most, aspects in life today involve technology in one way or another. It is nearly impossible to run a business that doesn’t involve technology. Since it is almost impossible to avoid, you might as well work towards it being safe and secure.
There are different ways to stay secure such as anti-virus programs or proxies, all that matters is taking cybersecurity as a priority. Here are a few cyber-security solutions to help your growing business or startup stay safe.
Taking a look at different ways to keep you safe from different kinds of cyber-attacks may help you to decide what you’re up against and who you want on your side.
Good cybersecurity can protect you from many things, and there are plenty of reasons why you should take it seriously.
Just like the aforementioned reasons:
- Vulnerability
- Information Leaks
- Identity Theft
- Phishing
- Broken Reputation
Having a lack of cybersecurity can lead to many crippling situations for a business or a startup. With the already tiny success rate of businesses, you don’t want to have a paralyzing cyberattack make things worse. Running a business is no joke and taking an extra step towards effective cybersecurity is something you should seriously consider.
