Are You Aware of These 5 Reasons to Conduct Vulnerability Scan of Your Business Today?
Do you remember the last day when you didn’t hear about a cyberattack on a company? No, right? Cyberattacks have become really common these days, making cybersecurity an everyday hassle for businesses to focus upon. The shifting of more and more businesses to the cloud has resulted in a rise in data breaches. Hackers are going after companies of all sizes and, in some cases, even individuals. They are getting better at using technology and are motivated by their own self-interest. The rise in Cyberattacks have increased drastically within Australia as mentioned in the Annual Cyber Threat Report by ACSC
But, do you know how hackers attack a network of computers (s)?
The quickest way for hackers to get into a system is to look for vulnerabilities that they can exploit. By vulnerabilities, we mean any weakness within the IT infrastructure that a hacker can potentially detect and exploit. Therefore, for businesses storing data on their organisation’s network, it becomes crucial for businesses to have a set of cybersecurity measures in place to avoid cyberattacks.
The most important thing that businesses can do to prevent cyberattacks is to monitor their IT infrastructure for vulnerabilities. Running Vulnerability Scans identifies the same for businesses, motivating them to take urgent action. A Vulnerability Scan can be defined as a scan that identifies, analyses, and reports the security loopholes and potential areas of exploitation that can be targeted by hackers. These scans are conducted either by the internal IT team or are outsourced to Managed Service Security Providers.
Does your business need to conduct a Vulnerability Scan and, if so, how frequently?
The next thing to determine is whether or not your company actually requires this scan. The answer to it is “Yes.” Every business these days is using technology in one way or the other. Even if you are a small or family-owned business that only uses one or two computers, we suggest that every business that uses computers to store their data should conduct a Vulnerability Scan because hackers can exploit network weaknesses and destroy or misuse the stored data and information.
The main thing to understand is the number of times you should run vulnerability scans for the size of your business. We would suggest that, at the very least, it should be done once a quarter if not monthly or as soon as you’ve made a significant infrastructural or other IT architecture change.
Reasons to Conduct Vulnerability Scan Today
To Risk Profile your business for any vulnerabilities
Nowadays, no business can function without the internet. Every single time a computer uses the Internet, there is a high potential for a hacker to take advantage of some new vulnerability out there. If the system is not cybersecure, hackers can worm their way into a network and steal proprietary information and other data critical to a business. By running a vulnerability scan to identify the points of weakness in your systems, you can reduce the attack surface that criminals might exploit. In the last couple of years, cyberattacks broke into 62% of Australian SMBs. This shows how important it is for companies to have security measures in place.
To not fall victim to cyberattack occurring every 39 seconds
Research has shown that businesses are unknowingly vulnerable for 470 days before a cyber-attack. And, attackers have an average of 176 days to steal sensitive data and information before a vulnerability is discovered. Vulnerability scans help businesses detect potential vulnerabilities and minimise false positives to prevent future data breaches and remediate vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.
To double-check the efficiency of cybersecurity measures in place
It is a common misconception among businesses that their MSP or IT support provider, who is in charge of their IT infrastructure, is also responsible for protecting them from cyberattacks; however, this is not always the case. They do not offer cybersecurity unless they are a MSSP (Managed Services Security Provider) or a specialist in cybersecurity. So, to ensure a secure environment to work in and the security measures in place, running a vulnerability scan is a good idea to start with.
To Avoid the Business Setback for an Average of 205 Days after a Cyberattack
According to the reports, the average time to fix critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities is 205 days. This means no work for almost 7 months, bringing a huge loss to the business and, in many cases, an unfortunate shut down too. Interestingly, there is 1 cybercrime report every 10 minutes & 144 approx. cybercrime reports every day by small and medium businesses, making it more crucial than ever before to deploy cybersecurity measures within all businesses.
To Avoid Paying Huge Ransom for Data Recovery Following a Cyberattack
The average total cost of a cyber data breach in Australia last year was $3.35 million per breach. That’s $163 per lost or stolen record, according to IBM’s 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report. That’s due to each breach taking 296 days to identify and contain. To avoid shelling out your hard-earned money, the only way is to have a cybersecurity posture maintained within your business. You can start by running a vulnerability scan of your business to identify the potential areas of exploitation and the new vulnerabilities emerging every day.
If implemented correctly and ran on regular basis, vulnerability scans can prove to be instrumental in identifying and assessing modern security risk, highlighting the insights for urgent action(s) by the businesses for maintaining a strong cybersecurity across all the areas.
Take Your First Step Towards Cybersecurity With Us Today!
If you want to protect your business from cyberattacks
OR
to get help in determining what is the best solution for your business,
Call us today at 03 9069 2188 for a free consultation.
Nick CheungDirectorPronet Technology