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February 27, 2017

3 Reasons Why U.S. Political Leaders Are Panicking About Cybercrime


The National Governors Association (NGA) is currently wrapping up its four-day winter meeting in Washington, D.C. It was a long weekend in Washington, with cybersecurity being a major topic of debate among U.S. governors.  

On Saturday, for instance, the NGA held a special session to discuss the major threats that are facing the U.S. as well as the steps that states must now take to remain safe. And according to The Hill, a cybersecurity briefing is taking place today at the U.S. Capitol building. 

We could write an entire book as to why cybersecurity is commanding so much attention from our political leaders. Global cybercrime, in other words, is one of the most complex issues of our time. There is a great deal of misinformation floating around about the topic, too, and it’s not easy to separate fact from fiction.

Here are three reasons why U.S. political leaders are panicking about cybercrime:

1. Nobody is sure how bad the problem is: Over the last several decades, we have watched the Internet transform from a conceptual technology into the backbone of the global economy. The global e-commerce market, for instance, is expected to exceed $27 trillion in 2020.  And today, we’re on the verge of seeing explosive growth in IP connectivity thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). 

All the while, though, the Internet’s criminal underbelly has been steadily growing to the point where we can no longer ignore it. We can only speculate as to how big it is.

Here's what we do know: Last year, over 2 billion records were leaked as a result of cybercrime. And this figure should undoutedly increase this year. 

Now, some rather terrifying questions abound: How deep have hackers wormed into our critical infrastructure? And could we effectively respond to a global cybersecurity incident?

Right now, it's still just a guessing game. 

2. It’s getting very expensive: Experts predict that global cybercrime will cost businesses over $2 trillion by 2019. This is an increase of almost fourfold from 2015.   

Why is this figure so high? It’s because cybercrime can impact a business in multiple ways. When a business gets hit with a cyberattack, in other words, there are both direct and indirect costs it will face. Identifying threats, eliminating them and performing damage control after an attack can all be considered direct costs. Indirect costs can also arise from lost customers and tarnished reputations. It can take years to fully recover from a hack or data breach. 

3. Cybercrime is directly harming Americans: Cybercrime is like terrorism, in that it strikes fear on a hyperlocal level. Cyberattacks are happening to American businesses of all size — from SMBs to large enterprises. Consumers are being heavily targeted, too. For this reason, cybercrime has grown into a top national security issue.

Unfortunately, our political leaders have limited options for stopping global cybercrime. This is largely because cyberattacks tend to originate overseas, where it's more difficult to track them. So if your business is waiting for sweeping legislation to address cybercrime, you’re taking the wrong approach. Your business is almost guaranteed to get hit with a cyberattack in the meantime.

Here is a way you can take immediate action to keep your business safe from hackers:

Consult with a managed services provider (MSP) that has the necessary guidance, technologies and insight to protect your business. For example, an MSP can provide you with ongoing network monitoring and threat detection solutions. You’ll also benefit from rapid response troubleshooting and a 24-hour cybersecurity help desk.

To get started, click here.

A new breed of hacktrepeneurs has awoken and they have little to fear and everything to gain by infecting as many companies as possible and extorting money from them. Apex Technology Services stands ready to protect your company regardless of whether it’s located in New York CityWhite Plains, New York; Connecticut; Australia; Europe; or anywhere else. Our full suite of cybersecurity and IT support services is at your disposal, enabling you to spend less time worrying about and more time growing your business.

To ensure your security, consider one of our most popular services — Auditing & Documentationwhich pinpoints vulnerabilities in your infrastructure, process flow and internal security procedures.


 

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