Your organization's employees are your greatest assets. But did you also know they can be one of your greatest liabilities when it comes to keeping your data secure? Even the most well-intentioned staff members can make a simple mistake that opens your company up to a cybercrime. They can inadvertently jeopardize security by clicking a link, downloading an attachment or being too trusting of an email sender or caller.

That’s what happened to thousands of people in a widespread 2017 cyberattack identified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In that scam, the criminals simply called their victims over the phone and asked, “Can you hear me?”—tricking the person on the other end into saying “yes” into the phone. According to Data Breach Today, the response was recorded and reused as a voice signature in an attempt to make unauthorized charges on personal and business credit card accounts.

Cases like these are good reminders that threats do not always occur from software vulnerabilities. Most business owners are surprised to learn that many breaches happen not from directly hacking into a computer software system but due to human errors like this.

At Bridge Bank, we are committed to maintaining robust cybersecurity practices to help keep private client information private. It all starts with the realization that anyone—from the newest intern to C-level executives—can become a target of digital crime and leave your company exposed.

According to an IBM 2019 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study, the average consolidated cost of a data breach is around $3.92 million. Records or data stolen loses money, and the average amount of money lost for each record or piece of information stolen comes to $150. A breach has other costs as well: time and clients. According to the report, the average time a breach takes from identification to containment is 279 days—that’s more than three full quarters of your year. And companies that experience a breach have 3.9% abnormal customer turnover.

In 2018, hacking remained the most common kind of data breach, exposing more than 16 million consumer records, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Hacking accounted for 39% of breaches—down from 59% in 2017. Helping to explain that change, unauthorized access was blamed for 30% of breaches in 2018, vs. 11% in 2017.

But it’s important to note that nearly a quarter of all breaches are a result of human error. So, what can you do to protect your company?

Create a Plan to Protect Your Business
Errors happen, but you can defend yourself against cybercrime by knowing the dangers and implementing best practices to prevent breaches.

The Department of Homeland Security urges all CEOs to ask themselves the following questions: