60% of U.S. businesses will experience a breach of sensitive data this year, and 68% of funds compromised by cyber security issues are uncoverable, according to a recent article entitled, 28 Cyber Security Statistics that Will Inspire You (to protect yourself). Cyber Security has become a significant problem for U.S. business, as evidenced by the 150% growth in Cyber Security insurance last year.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month; you may have seen the President discuss it on television recently. Attacks are becoming more frequent and serious.
Recently, SHRM posted an article that cited the escalation in attacks: “In September, Yahoo confirmed that hackers had compromised at least 500 million user accounts, making the incident the largest data breach from a single site in history. On Oct. 18, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stated in a release that she remains confident of Yahoo’s value and ability to keep its users despite the breach, which analysts believe might thwart the company’s plans to sell its core business for $4.83 billion to Verizon.”
Security breaches can be expensive for companies, according to the Journal of Cybersecurity.The total annual cost of cybersecurity crimes is $8.5 billion, and the cost for an individual company is about $200,000, according to research published in the journal.”
The article goes on to cite Ransomware, Onion-Layered Security Incidents, and Insider Threats as among those growing in incidence. Heimdal Security reported that 59% of employees steal proprietary company data when they leave.
Below, we’ve selected a list of 10 Cyber Security statistics that will inspire you to take protective action, taken from a statistical post by Bitsite Security Ratings blog that cites 28.
But first, here are 6 practical steps taken from the SHRM article that can help you immediately.
- Regularly back up your data in case your company experiences a ransomware attack.
- Educate your staff so they are aware of the different types of cybersecurity incidents and how to avoid them.
- Keep your systems updated so they have fewer security vulnerabilities.
- Enforce good password policies, including requirements that passwords be changed periodically, and prohibit password sharing.
- When employees are terminated, immediately cancel all their credentials, including password logins.
- The National Cybersecurity Alliance offers free security checkups and tools that may be useful for smaller companies that do not have dedicated security teams.
Organizations and governments are starting to hold businesses responsible for protecting customer privacy—something HR professionals should keep in mind.
Here are a few of the Cyber Security statistics from the Bitsite blog …
