You will face a myriad of challenges along the way, and you must do all it takes to overcome them so that you can achieve your short-term and long-term goals. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges you will face is keeping up with the ever-evolving technological landscape. As you sweat towards gaining an edge in the digital marketplace, novice cyber threats will rear their horrible heads every minute. They will, without a doubt, compromise the operations of the business you have worked hard to set up. As an entrepreneur, you need to remember that modern criminals are not the typical hooded individuals who come to rob your property in the middle of the night. On the contrary, they are bright individuals who sit behind computers and initiate attacks that could be detrimental to any type of organization. In this day and age, the old saying “prevention is better than cure” still holds true. To beat the cyber-criminals, you need to think and act like them. If you can’t, you have no option but to hire someone who does! Below are some valid reasons why your startup needs a certified ethical hacker as soon as now.
A defensive strategy with an offensive approach will be devised.
Cyber threats are continually evolving. The way hackers used to target businesses and individuals a few days ago is not the same as today. To secure your systems, you need someone who understands the trends in cyberspace and is able to duplicate the actions of malevolent snoopers and hackers. When you employ an ethical hacker, he/she will be able to identify vulnerabilities in your systems and fix them. Basically, it’s like a jockey paying someone to train their horse in order to get higher chances to be a Kentucky Derby winner. The hacker will deploy offensive actions to develop defensive strategies to protect your business’s sensitive data.
Your liability will be limited.
When a data calamity strikes your startup, you can rest assured that you will either lose a significant amount of income when trying to recover lost data or lose your business altogether if you are unsuccessful in data recovery efforts. By having an ethical hacker in your business, you will not only strengthen your systems’ safety, but also reduce your business’ liability during a cyber attack. Even when you are faced with severe data leakage, hack, or breach, having a certified expert in control will help to restore customer trust.
Sophisticated attacks will be handled.
Of course, you have invested in a few tools that can help you keep your systems safe from cybercriminals. Nonetheless, you cannot overlook the fact that modern hackers are too intelligent, such that they can penetrate even the most secured software and applications. Without a super-intelligent intrusion detection system in place, it is now practically impossible to detect present-day hackers’ malicious activities. If you hire an ethical hacker in your small business, he will help define detection rules, which will go a long mile in eliminating a wide range of sophisticated attacks. Even if there has been a breach that has gone undetected for a long time, a person who has the same thought as a dark web criminal will find ways to detect it and secure your sensitive data going forward.
Your business credibility will be protected.
Did you know even the smallest data breach can harm your business? Well, when Facebook confirmed a data breach in 2018, its market share price dropped by a whopping 7% in three days. Similarly, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook recorded a decline in its booming market value. If Facebook, which is arguably the biggest social media platform, can suffer in the hands of cybercriminals, what about your small business? Well, your guess is as good as mine! With a certified ethical hacker, you will be less susceptible to all kinds of data breaches; hence the credibility and reputation you have worked hard to build will be protected.
Transitioning to the cloud will be easy.
Today, your business will make little sense if it doesn’t adopt IT sourcing and virtualization. However, these trends are often used by hackers and snoopers to compromise systems and get all the data they need for their malevolent needs. During cloud transition, an ethical hacker will help you create a secure network and make the whole process smooth, convenient, and surprisingly affordable.
Final Thoughts
One of the best decisions you can make in protecting your business is to work with an ethical hacker. If you have a unique talent for emerging technologies, you can take up a course and become an ethical hacker yourself. With this skill, you will not only protect your business data but also get a cool and rewarding job title that makes hacking fun without breaking the law. Whether you choose to work with an ethical hacker or become one yourself, you can comfortably focus on your business without worrying about a looming data calamity.
