If you’re confident in your IT cybersecurity plan including antivirus software and firewall, you’ve only won half the battle. For too long, cybersecurity has been treated as a purely technical problem, managed in a separate IT silo.
The reality is that the biggest risks facing your company aren’t just technical—they’re business risks that manifest in a digital form. A sophisticated firewall might block an intrusion, but it won’t help you assess the cost of losing your important applications or the damage to your reputation from a data leak.
The Real Cost of Being Unprepared
According to one industry report, 78% of small-to-mid-sized businesses fear a major incident could put them out of business. This threat isn’t about code; it’s about business continuity.
To truly protect your company, you need to ask business-level questions:
1. What is your mission-critical asset? For one company, it might be the SQL server holding customer data; for another, it could be a legacy scale system that directly controls whether trucks can depart (as we see in our assessment template).
2. What is the impact? We categorize impact not just by technical downtime, but by Reputation, Mission, and Direct Financial Loss. How would a breach impact client trust or your ability to fulfill orders?
3. Are you focused on availability? Ensuring systems like email or your primary CRM are always accessible is just as critical as protecting their confidentiality.
As part of Cybersecurity Month, we have created a Guided Self-Assessment form for you to use to review your business readiness.
Take the Guided Self-Assessment
The value of a true self-assessment is that it forces you and your leadership team to put risks into the context of your operations. It moves the conversation from “Is our network safe?” to “Can we survive a business disruption?”
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building a resilience plan based on your core business assets, download our free, simplified self-assessment today.
Protecting your business starts with educating your team. Ensure they’re using the right tools and staying vigilant to keep your company’s data safe.
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