When it comes to data breaches, security awareness is well-published when it happens to businesses like Target, Home Depot, and Equifax. Data breaches can happen when sensitive, protected, or confidential information has been viewed or stolen by unauthorized users. Unfortunately, the headlines don't capture the risk breaches present in the small business space.
Check out these stats from Cybint Solutions:
- 43% of hacker attacks target small business.
- Cyber-attacks occur every 39 seconds.
- The anticipated cost of cybercrime to the global economy will be $6 trillion by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015, and is more lucrative than the drug trade.
- It takes most companies 6 months to detect a data breach, even major cases.
- The global average cost of a data breach is $3.9 million across small to medium sized businesses. (and according to Solver One, on average that’s a minimum of 38K to a small business.)
In many cases, the use of security doesn't align with the size of a business. Usually, there is no crisis management team, no legal team, and limited infrastructure to combat an incident and manage the fall out that occurs. Consequently, the reputational and financial damage to small business owners continues to increase, as does their need to make accepting payments as easy as possible for their own customers in an increasingly competitive landscape.
So what can be done to protect your business?
The first is action to adopt is awareness. Sharing security processes and information with employees who have access to your data and processing equipment is critical. The second component to protecting your business is staying up to date with technology solutions that can securely process card data, provide contactless options, and securely hold cardholder data and information. The easier and safer it is for customers to pay you, the better. The third focus is leveraging your payment processor with regard to PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and security needs so that you're ensuring you've taken the necessary steps to maintain both PCI DSS compliance and security standards.
This is where we come in.
Our Chesapeake Payment Systems team is proud of the fact that we have been able to maintain a very high positive compliance standard in our portfolio of merchants. The success is a result of our working relationship with ControlScan, a leader in PCI compliance, and our elite team of professionals who are committed to evolving with payment trends and security.
Not only do we strive to be ahead, but we also utilize our expertise here to take you with us. We do this with onsite installation of devices, training your team, monitoring your systems, and proactive efforts to sustain your compliance.
This gives you peace of mind while allowing you, the business owner, to focus on other priorities.
Want to find out how to make your payment solution more secure?
Contact our CPS team at 866-941-1335 or click I'm interested below.
