Developing technologies, such as high-speed internet, artificial intelligence, or the Internet of Things (IoT) have changed our lives forever. It has changed every aspect of our lives, from the way we conduct business to our daily activities. The possibilities opened by these technological developments are endless, especially for businesses.
More and more companies are transferring their business to online markets as it offers them a more convenient and straightforward way to conduct their business while reaching their customer faster than ever. Unfortunately, these technologies have also allowed cybercriminals and fraudsters to evolve their malicious actions. Their attacks are now bigger than ever, more sophisticated, and more difficult to discover. Not only that, but cyber threats are also responsible for changing online markets by creating distrust between businesses and customers, putting them both in greater danger. Companies can no longer stay indifferent, as they are in bigger danger of becoming targeted every day. Implementing cybersecurity solutions such as SEON’s fraud detection strategies can allow them to fight back.
What Consequences Can A Cyberattack Have?
Cybercriminals have only one goal, and that is to make a profit. They will go through any business to get to it, regardless of its size and in which industry sector they belong. According to the CeoWorld report, it is predicted that the cost of cybercrime will go as high as 10.5 trillion dollars by 2025. Nobody on the market is safe anymore.
Hackers or fraudsters will try to get their hands on anything that can make them profit, but they are most likely to target to try getting access to the following sensitive data:
- Customer’s confidential data
- Email records
- Financial data
- Business data ( such as any new business ideas, plans, documents, and anything else they can sell to the highest bidder)
- Intellectual property
- Employee data
Getting their hands on any of these data can have devastating consequences to your business, some of them that you couldn’t even imagine:
- financial loss
- business loss
- costs
- investment loss
Not only that cybercriminals will try to steal the money or business information they can use, but they can damage your systems in the process creating even more losses while you try to fix the issues. The financial loss is not even the most significant consequence as the cyberattack can leave long-term damage such as loss of customers or third-party contacts. People are not likely to continue to do business with companies that suffered an attack, as they don’t believe their sensitive information will be kept safe.
How Has Cybercrime Changed The Online Market?
Cybercrime has affected the online market in numerous ways. It also needed to adapt to the new dangers and find ways of conducting its operations in safe ways.
Increased Use Of Cybersecurity Protocols.
The main result of increased cybercrime activity is a subsequent increase in the development of cybersecurity protocols. To protect their business operations and customers, all companies had to step up their security strategies. While most of them relied on the use of firewalls and antivirus programs for protection in the past, these methods are no longer enough to ensure their safety. Luckily, the development of technology allowed new security standards to be developed, such as machine learning, transaction monitoring, data enrichment, or lookup tools.
Improved Password Hygiene.
Businesses have realized how crucial good password hygiene is for online safety. Passwords hold the key to your entire online life, and there is no limit to what a fraudster can do if they get access to it. This is why companies are introducing password policies in their terms and conditions, requesting users to choose more complex passwords that are harder to breach in case of an attack.
Changes In Customer Behavior.
Customers are becoming more aware of online dangers, and they are becoming more mindful when using online services or purchasing goods online. Not only will they stop using a product or a service if the business was connected with the cyberattack, but they will also do the same if the security protocols take too much time. This leaves businesses struggling to protect their clients while at the same time trying to reduce user friction.
Altered Business Practices.
The rise in cybercrime forced companies to rethink how they collect and store sensitive information. While they need customers’ information to offer the best service they can, at the same time, they need to ensure the information isn’t vulnerable to attacks.
Online dangers have become a part of our world, and it is not going to go anywhere. There are lots of ways of implementing a proper cybersecurity strategy and taking a proactive approach. For instance, CIO talks about cybersecurity plans and how to implement them efficiently. However, if you manage to create your own strategy, you will be able to protect your business and its customers.
