Understanding the Cyber Risk in your business
Your business is more reliant on technology today than ever before.
Technology helps customers find you, keeps your team connected, and improves the products and services you offer. Technology is fundamental to everything.
Every technology we adopt also carries with it risk. Left unchecked, these risks will make running your business a real pain. Technology risk could even stop you delivering the things your customers rely on you for.
Technology risk, also known as cyber risk, falls into one of three different buckets.
Availability risk
The clearest risk for many of us is the risk that something stops working. A service or a product we rely on as a business disappears. We call these risks availability risks. This is where something is no longer available to us and things stop working. Availability risks are often quite obvious, particularly in critical systems we use everyday.
Confidentiality risk
As our reliance on technology grows, so too does our reliance on the information we use as a business. The thought of this information falling into the wrong hands can be horrifying.
Keeping information safe is particularly important for businesses that rely on trust. Customers and clients that share information with us, rely on us to keep it safe and secure on their behalf. Losing control of information can destroy hard earned trust underpinning many businesses.
The information you're collecting may also carry regulatory risk. New legislation is being introduced all over the world. Depending on where you operate you may need to keep things safe or respond in specific ways when things go wrong.
Don't forget about your company secrets. Keeping them safe and away from those looking to harm your business is key to your continued success.
Integrity risk
The third, and final, type of risk is often quite a lot less obvious. It’s the integrity of the systems themselves and the information stored within them. Lost trust in systems can have a significant impact on particularly small businesses. If account details update ahead of a bank transfer, payments will go to the wrong account. If your client records change, you might deliver products or services to the wrong person.
On the surface, these can seem like minor concerns, but they can result in significant costs and real harm.
No matter what your business does, it’s vital you consider:
What would happen if a critical system went away?
What information are you collecting that needs to stay out of the wrong hands?
What sort of processes would break if something changes without you knowing?