Why Security Matters
One of the biggest problems in computer security is that people have
trouble believing that anything bad can happen to them — until it does.
The truth is that bad things do happen, and they happen more often than
you might think. Surveys conducted by the Computer Security Institute
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimate that 90 percent
of corporations and government agencies detected computer security
breaches in 2002. Of those corporations and agencies, 80 percent
acknowledged resulting financial losses.
Many small business owners believe that they do not need to worry much
about security. "After all," they reason, "who would want to target my
business when there are so many bigger targets out there." While it is
true that small businesses are not directly attacked as often as larger,
there are three flaws with this reasoning. The first reason is that small
businesses often end up as part of larger attacks, such as mass worm
outbreaks or efforts to harvest credit card numbers. The second reason is
that because security is becoming tighter than ever at larger companies,
small business networks look increasingly tempting to attackers. And the
third reason is that this assumes that all attacks come from the outside.
Regardless of how or why your business is attacked, recovery usually
takes significant time and effort. Imagine if your computer systems were
unavailable for a week. Imagine if you lost all the data stored on all the
computers in your company. Imagine if your worst competitor was able to
obtain a list of your customers, along with sales figures and sales notes.
How long would it take before you noticed? What would these breaches cost
your company? Could you afford these losses?
It seems like common sense. You wouldn’t leave your building unlocked
at night. The same is true with information security, and a few simple
steps can make you a lot less vulnerable. Technology experts have a way of
making basic security seem like a huge and difficult issue. Luckily,
securing your business is easier than you might think.
Of course, there is no way to guarantee 100 percent security. As the
old saying goes, “You can make a door only so strong before it’s easier to
come through the wall.” However, you can achieve a reasonable level of
security and be prepared in case breaches do happen. Properly weighing
risks and consequences against the cost of prevention is a good place to
start.
