In 2014, approximately 43 percent of companies said they had experienced a data breach over the past 12 months, according to a Ponemon Institute survey. No business is immune to a cyber crime, which is why more CEOs are looking into hiring information security professionals for in-house monitoring.
In the midst of a corporate hack, 70 percent of executives have asked for IT security status updates, according to Information Management. However, this information can be hard to track down without having a security professional on the premises. Here are four reasons to employ an information security professional who can help during a crisis.
1. Private data is constantly being exposed.
A report released by Netskope in 2015 revealed that 17.9 percent of all files in enterprise-sanctioned cloud apps violate a data policy. Out of these files, 22.2 percent of them are being shared with the public. A trained security professional can spot these issues before company data falls into the wrong hands.
2. Employees are not security-savvy.
Research led by Michael Brueemmer, vice president of Experian’s data breach resolution group, has found that 80 percent of breaches can be linked to employee negligence. This means that when employees lose a password, mishandle files or lose a USB stick with sensitive data, it can have a direct impact on an organization. A security professional can train and educate employees on easy ways to keep company data safe.
3. You’re risking the trust of your customers.
Your customers believe that you are doing everything you can to keep personal information safe. In the event that a data breach exposes everything from credit card information to social security numbers, you risk losing loyal customers. Additionally, you could turn away potential customers. An information security professional can reduce the risk of sensitive data leaking out to the public.
4. Widespread security is time-consuming.
Every company needs to evolve its security program to adapt to factors such as cloud usage, mobile communications and social media, according to Gartner. Additionally, businesses need to be up to date on changing intellectual property laws, as well as other regulatory standards. Recruiting an information security employee can designate one individual to keeping up with these changes.
By 2020, about 75 percent of companies’ information security budgets will be put toward rapid detection and response strategies, according to Gartner. This is a stark increase from less than 10 percent recorded back in 2012. More businesses are refusing to take chances with sensitive data, and hiring an information security professional is becoming a new measure of protection. For more information about hiring security professionals, please contact us today.