You can’t escape cybersecurity.

There are tons of statistics we could give you that would show you why cybersecurity is so essential. Let’s give you a few:

• There were 2,365 cyberattacks in 2023
• There were 343,338,964 victims in 2023
• A data breach costs $4.45 million on average
• 89.7% of US businesses experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months

Need we go on? Or is it already clear why no entrepreneur can afford to overlook cybersecurity, especially SMEs with a budget not even close to $4.45 million? That number obviously depends on the scale of the attack on the business, but you can assume that no matter what, it’ll be expensive.

Cyberattacks are more sophisticated than ever – hackers are perfecting their craft. In 2023, Cybersecurity Ventures’ report predicted that by 2025, global losses from cybercrime will reach $10.5 trillion annually compared to $3 trillion in 2015.

That was one final statistic to warm you up before the rest of the article. Read on to learn more.

The Increasing Threats of Cyber Attacks

The statistics in the introduction speak for themselves. And it’s not only big brands. SMEs are more vulnerable because they lack the financial backing to improve their cybersecurity posture, and, unfortunately, often fall afoul of the myth that SMEs are inherently less interesting to cybercriminals. On the contrary, the very fact that SMEs are less protected – and therefore a lot less expensive to infiltrate – means that they represent a very interesting prospect to hackers. With SMEs, it’s possible to take down a larger number of infrastructures – and extract more revenue – than with a single, well-protected corporation. 

Yes, there are affordable methods like various VPN services, but it’s the entire cybersecurity posture businesses must look at – from incident response strategies to data storage. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) study showed that small businesses accounted for 43% of all hacked organizations, while less than 14% were well prepared for such an attack.

Before any sort of infrastructure can be put in place, SMEs first have to accept that they are very vulnerable. Even if they haven’t experienced a single attempt thus far, they represent sitting ducks to malicious third parties scouring the web for targets. 

Financial and Reputational Consequences

Long-term implications for consumer trust and the organization’s reputation should be enough to scare anyone.

According to a PwC survey in 2023, about 85% stated that they would never consider buying any goods from companies they doubted in terms of their cybersecurity practices and effectiveness. In other words, if you look suspicious, they won’t shop. To be sure, most of us can name at least one or two brands that, despite their continued survival, have written themselves off as brands that we want to associate with. 

Companies that have experienced cyberattacks may also face higher insurance premiums and growing legal expenses to remedy the attack – you saw the figures in the introduction. It’s not just about mitigating the attack itself, but about surviving the weeks, months, and even years that follow after it. Recovery takes far longer to sort out than prevention, if it is even resolvable at all. 

Cyber incidents were also identified as the most dangerous business risks by 50% of company leaders surveyed by the Allianz Risk Barometer 2023, surpassing business interruptions. That reflects a change in how businesses perceive the financial and operational implications of inadequate cybersecurity.

Using Cybersecurity as a Competitive Edge

Let’s flip this and give you a positive.

Businesses can overcome the negatives through proactive investment in cybersecurity measures.

According to Cisco’s survey conducted in 2023, 91% of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that it was one of the factors that would make them think better of a company or not. And, with our awareness of cybersecurity and data management growing sharper than ever, consumer faith in well-protected, transparent companies is only going to gain importance going forward. This isn’t a trend set to die out in a few years. The entire future of the web is predicated on a more legitimate, more intentional approach to cybersecurity and protecting the data that businesses inevitably come across. 

Entrepreneurs should first prioritize information protection over all other things. By doing so, they defend their assets and establish credibility. As a result, repeat purchases increase while brand loyalty strengthens. And, businesses demonstrating high standards for cybersecurity will find it easy to attract investors who want to safeguard their capital.

Do you think you can overlook cybersecurity? We think not. For entrepreneurs today, ignoring cybersecurity is no longer permissible. The result is literally millions in damage, and that’s before you even attempt to take into account the devastation of losing a large chunk of your customerbase. It’s not about rebuilding from scratch; it’s about building from negative zero.