You spent the last 5 years building your business. Your spouse held down the fort, supporting you and your kids while you poured every cent and every ounce of energy you had into it. And slowly but surely your dream brought you, your employees and their families to a level everyone together worked hard to achieve - success!

Until today. When the verdict in the data breach lawsuit filed against your company was reached: Guilty. With one small word everything you and your team worked so hard to achieve is gone. And you and your family are left with nothing. Now what?

All it takes is one compromised computer to have a significant impact, so for small business owners especially, the impacts of cybercrime can be a significant source of depression and anxiety.

Daunting possibilities like this would frighten anyone. Many small business owners face these kinds of fears everyday, at times resulting in anxiety, depression or both (any of which can be debilitating or even crippling to productivity and decision-making).

Beyond the financial losses caused by a data breach, business owners are also confronted with loss of trust from their customer base. And in some cases, that loss can be detrimental leading to the owner’s anxiety.

According to Cybercrime Magazine, 60 percent of small businesses are forced to shut their doors within six months of a data breach or cyber attack. With those kinds of numbers, it’s no wonder small and medium-sized companies are fearful when it comes to keeping networks safe.

While small business owners might not be able to afford what they need in order to ensure their systems are totally, 100% protected, there are plenty of measures that will minimize damage in the case of a cyberattack, along with alleviating those feelings of panic or worry.

Cyber Risk Assessment

Implementing a cybersecurity risk assessment is one of the first steps towards securing your network and feeling less anxious about falling victim to a cyberattack. The assessment identifies vulnerabilities that might make you susceptible to an attack, and also for devising an effective strategy to prevent something like a data breach from happening.

Additionally, gaining actionable insights on a company’s risk environment can do wonders for any small business owner’s mental health. Having access to this type of information makes it possible to forecast consequences and organize a plan to prevent them from happening.

In other words, a cyber risk assessment puts everything on the table and eliminates fear of the unknown — something which can be especially crippling when your business’s integrity and livelihood are on the line.

Mitigation

Implementing a strong mitigation strategy in the event of a cyberthreat can both minimize damage and answer the question of how to defend your systems from future attacks.

Mitigation or “attack mitigation” is the reduction of damages caused by a cyber attack. A solid mitigation strategy allows business owners to protect sensitive information from misconduct, while also going about business as usual.

With a strong mitigation strategy in place, you can feel less panicked about further harm to your network’s safety until your business has the means to carry out counter-measures.

Insurance

No company is completely safe from data breaches and other types of cyberattacks, let alone small businesses. And while this can be a huge source of anxiety for business owners who can only afford to implement the most basic safety measures, cyber liability insurance exists to help make up for most of the financial losses caused by data-related attacks.

As cybercriminal tactics become more and more unpredictable, knowing that your business won’t lose significant amounts of money in the case of a cyberattack should alleviate a great deal of fear and stress. Further, knowing that you can find a cyber liability insurance plan to safeguard exactly what your small business needs it to should give you even more peace of mind.

If All Else Fails…

Let’s be honest: you can’t stop hackers from coming up with new ways to breach networks. That’s why acceptance is a valuable tool in coping with cybersecurity-related depression or anxiety.

Creating a sound cybersecurity strategy in place will also help alleviate the anxiety you may feel around potential cyber risks and your business. You don’t have to go on this journey alone. Secure for the unknown with Trava today.