Cybersecurity; how much should you be spending?
Posted 2nd March 2020
We always like to hear that businesses are taking cybersecurity seriously, so were very happy to read that cybersecurity spending appears to be on the up. Research by Dell and RSA has shown that around $124billion was spent worldwide on cybersecurity in 2019. That’s a 141% increase since 2010!
You’d think we’d be celebrating at this amazing news and in some ways it’s great to see that businesses are taking their cybersecurity seriously, but we also have to question whether the spending is needed and appropriate.
LP Networks have always argued that it is important to keep your systems protected. Using traditional methods such as anti-virus, firewalls and disaster recovery means that your important information is kept safe and that you are less likely to spread viruses and malware to other organisations. It’s like the cyber version of a vaccination. However, an IT Governance report suggests that many organisations find it difficult to accurately assess their security weaknesses. The result is that they are blindly investing in cybersecurity programmes and, in some cases, doubling up. Having two firewalls in place doesn’t improve your protection, it just does the same job twice. It’s the same as a vaccination. Having two measles vaccinations won’t make you any more immune to the illness and certainly won’t protect you from mumps.
Additionally, the latest statistics have also discovered that 88% of data breaches are caused by human error. No amount of technology could change that.
So, what should you do?
There are two things that every business should do to ensure that they are properly protected against cybercriminals. The first is to find a trusted IT partner who will advise you on the best traditional cybersecurity for your business. This can range from disaster recovery and appropriate antiviruses to ensuring that you are running on the latest and most up to date operating systems.
The second thing is to invest in training for your staff. Ensuring that your team can recognise when they should and shouldn’t click on an email can begin to bring down the chances of human error playing a part in a data breach. There is, after all, a lot of truth in the saying knowledge is power.
If you would like to review your cybersecurity spending with a trusted IT partner or are interested in training your team to spot phishing emails, contact the team at LP Networks today.