3 Reasons to Perform a Network Security Risk Assessment Before the Holiday Rush

The holidays are right around the corner. They’ll be here before you know it! This is the time of year when things get crazy. Businesses are rushing to finish out the year and preparing for the next one. Employees are taking time off or distracted at work, and consumers are planning holiday festivities and shopping for friends and family.

This is also a prime time for sleazy hackers to prey upon unprotected network systems and steal confidential data. ‘Tis the season for cybercrime, too!

• Can you tell your customers with confidence that it’s safe to share their information and do business with you?
• Do you have a plan in place if the unthinkable happens?
• When was the last time you tested your protections?

There are many reasons a hacker might want to break into your network. Read the top 3 reasons to perform a security audit on your network now.

1. Avoid Theft of Confidential Information

Arguably the most critical reason for performing a network security risk assessment before the holiday season starts is to make sure your data is protected. Hackers may be interested in your customers’ bank or credit card information. They might want to access private financial documents of your partners or parent company. Many times an SMB without enterprise-level security becomes the more attractive gateway for a hacker to go after larger businesses.

This is a particularly busy and potentially lucrative time of year for retailers. Customers need to know that they can trust you with their card details and personal information. Companies running their businesses solely online are especially at risk of receiving unwanted visitors if their networks are not fully protected.

2. Avoid a Network Shutdown

If a hacker can get inside your network or successfully deliver a virus through phishing attacks, your business could experience downtime. During the holidays, this can get especially ugly. Not only will you have to deal with the crisis of getting your network back up and running properly, but you will miss out on a ton of potential leads and sales. Your frustrated customers will ask a lot of questions about the reliability of your company if they don’t simply walk away.

Some hackers are malicious enough to wait months before locking you out of your own business and holding your data for ransom. Do you know when your backups were last tested? An assessment can give you the confidence to stand up to a ransom demand.

3. Protect Your Reputation

In what Bloomberg described as “the biggest retail hack in US history,” Target notoriously failed to respond to signals that its equipment was affected by malware. This resulted in the successful theft of an estimated 40 million customer debit and credit cards details, as well as addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information during 2013’s holiday season.

Ebay experienced one of the biggest hacks of all time when their network was breached. Over 145 million users accounts were hacked and their personal information was stolen.

Both of these companies suffered but survived. If you are not a major corporation, however, your comeback from something like this will be a much longer road. Some small to medium-sized companies have had to shut down completely after experiencing an attack.

 

Frauds and hackers pose a real threat at any time, but they can be especially dangerous at this time of year. With everything else going on during the holiday rush, having to deal with malware or ransomware is the last thing you want on your plate as a business. An attack could cost you your reputation at a sensitive time of year and ruin business for you in the future.

Infinity, Inc.’s network security services will keep your business’ sensitive data safe with the latest and most reliable layers of protection.

Benefits of Network Security:

• Prevention of data loss/theft
• Peace of mind
• Network uptime
• Greater worker flexibility

Don’t wait any longer to make sure that you are protected. Now is the ideal time to perform a network security risk assessment. Give us a call to get your business prepared.