Most Businesses Don’t Know What Causes a Data Breach—Are You One of Them?

If your business were breached by a cybercriminal, would you be able to figure out what caused the breach in the first place? If you don’t know the answer to this question, we have news for you—you’re far from the only one. A recent survey has shown that most security leaders (67% of those surveyed) don’t know what caused a cybersecurity incident, and it’s a problem that must be addressed.

It’s Not Easy to See Data Breaches

Most hackers are doing their best to not be discovered, so it can be difficult to figure out when data breaches started, let alone what caused them.

According to IBM, the average number of days from data breach to identification is 207—and that’s before you consider the time it takes to discover the cause. Most attacks are not like ransomware, where the breach wants you to know that it has been discovered. In fact, many of them will stay hidden for weeks, months, or even years.

The Internet of Things has further complicated this, as these normally unconnected devices can launch attacks before the victim knows what has happened.

Investigating Breaches Can Be Time-Consuming (and Expensive)

Investigating a data breach is not a simple task.

It costs time and money to figure out what caused a breach, both of which can be in short supply for small businesses. SMBs tend to think more in terms of “how can I fix this” rather than “why did this happen.” If you can’t invest the appropriate time or resources into finding the cause of an issue, you’re inviting it to happen again.

The best way to address any security breach is to find the root cause of it, then take steps to address it, thus breaking the cycle.

Even Protection Can Be Costly

The right technology can help businesses keep themselves safe… if they can afford it.

If your business has tools and systems to detect and eliminate threats before they can impact operations, it can go a long way toward limiting the damage done by threats. Failing to take proactive measures, however, is inviting even more damage. If you let threats linger too long, they can become serious problems that cannot easily be resolved.

Remember, it’s harder to recover from a breach than it is to prevent one.

Suffolk Computer Consultants can keep your business safe from all manner of threats. Call us at 631-905-9617 today to learn more.