Firewall: How California Leads the Nation in Cyberattack Mitigation

FRESNO, California – Cody Sarhan, Communications Specialist

Over the past five years, California businesses have led the nation in data breach incidents From 2017-2021, more than 3.7 billion dollars in lost revenue can be attributed to poor cybersecurity, according to a recently released report from Forbes. California nearly doubled the next closest state in both data breaches and lost revenue, and the number is only expected to go up.

I implore all entities that house confidential health-related information to be vigilant and take steps now to protect patient data before a potential cyberattack.” — California Attorney General Rob Bonta

The most targeted form of cyberattacks in California came from bad actors compromising email accounts — costing 14,925 victims more than $1.18 billion in lost revenue.

Learn more: How BCT can protect your email account

Small Businesses Have the Most to Lose

In 2021 businesses suffered 50% more cyberattack attempts per week, with 43% of those attacks being aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, according to Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study.

While many large businesses suffered breaches, small and medium businesses were an easier target for hackers because of their lack of resources and security expertise.” Chuck Brooks, Global Thought Leader in Cybersecurity and Emerging Tech

Source: Check Point Software

Business Cyber Threats by the Numbers

Ponemon Institute’s State of Cybersecurity Report details the most recent and compromising cyberattacks on small to medium-sized businesses.

  • Insufficient security measures: 45% say that their processes are ineffective at mitigating attacks.
  • Frequency of attacks: 66% have experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months.
  • Background of attacks: 69% say that cyberattacks are becoming more targeted.

The most common types of attacks on small businesses include:

  • Phishing/Social Engineering: 57%
  • Compromised/Stolen Devices: 33%
  • Credential Theft: 30%

2022 & Beyond

Due to the advancement of the modern economy; remote working, e-commerce, and the need for digital infrastructure protecting both your employees and your clients has never been more paramount. Couple that with the ongoing issues caused by climate change, the pandemic, and supply chain bottlenecks, the smallest wrinkle in your cybersecurity can cripple your business.

“2021 saw unprecedented levels of disruption, caused by various triggers. Crippling cyber-attacks, the supply chain impact from many climate change-related weather events, as well as pandemic-related manufacturing problems and transport bottlenecks wreaked havoc.” AGCS CEO Joachim Mueller.

Joachim Mueller summarizes by saying, “Business interrupted’ will likely remain the key underlying risk theme in 2022. Building resilience against the many causes of business interruption is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for companies.”

How to Maintain Your Competitive Advantage

One of the first things to keep in mind when trying to gain a competitive advantage as a company, is the idea of futureproofing that advantage. With a constantly changing economic and technological landscape, a sustainable advantage takes diligence and a firm pulse on industry shifts — that’s where BCT comes in.

We keep a sharp eye on industry standards and emerging technologies to help better serve our clients. By being on the cutting edge of these technological advancements, we can help build better systems for our clients — no matter if we’re converting an older system or creating a fully tailored solution for our clients’ specific needs.

Learn more: About BCT’s service benefits

How BCT Can Protect You

On top of the increase in cyberattacks, there’s the ongoing battle against supply chain disruptions, the aforementioned data breaches, and more. One of the top priorities for companies is ensuring that their businesses remain weatherproof, as climate change and natural disasters continue to devastate large regions of the country and the rest of the world.

Learn more: How BCT can protect your data from wildfires, hurricanes, winter storms and more

One of the best and most effective ways of protecting yourself is by having a proper disaster recovery solution in place in the event of total data loss. Hurricane Ian is the most recent example of such catastrophic loss.

“Previous once-in-a-century-events may well occur more frequently in future and also in regions which were considered ‘safe’ in the past. Both buildings and business continuity planning need to become more robust in response,”Maarten van der Zwaag, Global Head of Liability Risk Consulting at AGCS

With all this said, cyber perils are still the biggest risk and worry for companies globally in 2022, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer. The increasing reports of cyberattacks, ransomware, data breaches, and major IT outages continue to set back businesses and whole industries. These threats, according to many experts, outnumber the damages and costs from supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — which have all continued to heavily affect businesses in the past year.

We at BCT are committed to protecting clients’ data, taking proactive measures against cyberattacks, and safeguarding our clients’ infrastructure in the event of a natural disaster. To learn more about how we can protect you from these ongoing threats, contact one of our team members today.

BCT Consulting now has engineers servicing clients within Fresno, Clovis, Madera, San Jose, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Bakersfield, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Anaheim, and Palm Springs.

Cody Sarhan | Communications Specialist, Xobee Networks

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