IT Trends & Technology Blog | FNTS

Reducing Vulnerabilities and Data Breach Risks in Small and Medium-Sized Organizations

Written by Don Pecha, CISO | February 26, 2020

In today’s threat landscape, experts say it’s no longer a matter of if a cyberattack will affect an organization, but when. Something as simple as a link click in a phishing email can compromise an entire network.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center receives an average of 1,200 reports of internet crime per day and more than 340,000 per year. The number of cybercrime reports and the dollar amount of losses is increasing annually, with $3.5 billion in losses reported in 2019.

Among the pathways hackers use to exploit vulnerabilities within organizations, ransomware has been a growing threat making headlines and impacting businesses of all sizes and industries. Threat variations involving cloud technology, destructive malware, scanning and exploitation of vulnerabilities and cryptojacking are becoming more common. Additionally, mobile and IoT devices are increasingly vulnerable to ever-evolving hacking techniques and malware. These cyber threats are not tied to specific industries; however, some are targeted more frequently, including financial services and banking, government, retail and healthcare.

As cyber threats grow in sophistication, so does the need for advanced, proactive measures to thwart potential attacks and avoid costly downtime and damages.

According to a recent IBM analysis, over 8.5 billion records were compromised in 2019, an increase of 200% over 2018. While 8.5 billion is staggering, the number of compromised records is significantly higher with the added volume of unconfirmed and unreported incidents.

Many organizations employ a unique combination of security products and vendors, leading to a complicated web of information security that can affect issue response time and threat management. In fact, the industry average for small and medium-sized businesses is 20 different information security products from 10 different vendors. This diverse security ecosystem can pose vulnerabilities that hackers seek out for entry points into systems.

FNTS, a leader in IT security, managed services and cloud technology, recently announced the addition of First Protector to its suite of IT security service offerings. First Protector is a new, consolidated information security program aimed at guarding small and medium-sized organizations against cyber threats.

FNTS’ First Protector bundled package offers users multi-factor authentication, email protection, next-generation endpoint protection, a cloud-based next-generation firewall, vulnerability scanning, as well as an insurance option to cover expenses related to an IT security breach.

Ultimately, determining the right combination to unlock prevention-focused security depends on your specific needs. FNTS offers a free Data Security Guide that illustrates the industry-best security standards against ongoing cyber threats to help leaders determine security strategy and execution.

If a data breach was discovered tomorrow, are you prepared? According to a recent IBM study that analyzed data breach costs reported by 507 organizations across 16 geographies and 17 industries, the average amount of records lost in a data breach is 25,575. While costs vary based on the size and significance of a breach, the report outlines the average total cost of a data breach as $3.92 million.

The peace of mind for small and medium-sized organizations comes with knowing immediate, professional and expert support is available before, during and after an issue arises through a partnership with organizations like FNTS.