This blog was updated July 2023.
Cyberattacks are expected to cause approximately 6 trillion in damages in 2023, and regular cybersecurity risk assessments can significantly reduce the likelihood that your business will be among them. Here is an overview of what a cybersecurity risk assessment is, how it can benefit your business, and how Trava can help you get started!
What is a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment?
Approximately 67 percent of businesses are concerned about their level of vulnerability to various types of cyberattacks, and a cybersecurity risk assessment is a helpful tool for analyzing areas in which your business's current cybersecurity infrastructure and policies are performing well or in need of improvement. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), cybersecurity risk assessments are used to help businesses identify specific risks that are related to their information systems and take steps to respond to them before they become the gateway to a cyberattack.
Benefits of Conducting a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
Here are three of the most helpful ways a cybersecurity risk assessment can benefit your business!
Determine Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
Even the strongest cybersecurity infrastructure can be penetrated, which can result in significant ramifications for your business. Attackers that identify gaps or weaknesses in your business's network, computers or other devices, and other aspects of your IT infrastructure can use them as starting points to launch attacks against your business and its programs, and taking time to test your infrastructure for potential problems from time to time gives you the opportunity to take steps to solve them before someone that wants to harm your business or your customers finds them.
Gain Insight Into Your Ability to Mitigate Cybersecurity Threats
No matter how much effort your business puts into preventing cyberattacks, chances are you will experience at least one within the next few years. For example, approximately 48 percent of businesses have experienced at least one phishing attack within the past year and 64 percent have experienced some type of web-based attack at some point, which means that knowing how to respond to attacks is a crucial step in reducing the amount of damage they cause and recovering information or making other repairs.
Cyberattacks may be linked to security protocols that are not followed properly, clicking on phishing links or other human errors, a faulty firewall system, or other vulnerabilities, and knowing what your business may be dealing with in advance can help you take the right steps to keep damage as minimal as possible. Approximately 60 percent of businesses do not have a cyber response plan in place, which places them in an unnecessary level of danger because their response time to a potential attack will be much longer than it needs to be.
Determine Whether Your Business Meets Compliance Regulations
Adhering to both general compliance regulations and those that are specific to your industry is an important step in keeping your data and devices secure, and this is especially important if your business is entrusted with sensitive information about your customers. Not all businesses are diligent about following these regulations, and specific employees may be more lax than others when it comes to compliance. A cybersecurity assessment can identify specific areas in which compliance regulations are not being met regularly to help your business's leaders create stronger policies that more thoroughly monitor compliance and respond to individuals or departments that most frequently fall short.
Trava is here to help your business solve potential problems with your cybersecurity infrastructure, policies, or other aspects of your information systems to better protect your business and your customers. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of regular cybersecurity risk assessments or to get started!
To learn more, contact Trava today.
