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High-quality cybersecurity offers job security too

When a major company suffers a highly publicized data breach, the common thought is that customers deal with the brunt of the fallout. Sensitive consumer data such as financial records, Social Security numbers and personal information could fall into the wrong hands, leading to any number of headaches that could take years to resolve. As such, whenever a breach occurs, concern is generally focused on the well-being of clientele and not the victimized company. However, employees - especially those in the IT department - should be wary of the adverse effects that a major breach can have on their own livelihood as a great deal of internal finger-pointing may ensue.

Target made headlines for all the wrong reasons last year when it admitted that it had been hit by a pervasive data breach. Only a few months later, corporate representatives announced that it would cut approximately 475 jobs to account for dwindling sales. Although some outlets speculated that these positions were eliminated as a direct result of the breach, the Star Tribune reported that the move was more heavily influenced by the company's bottom line. However, the two are not mutually exclusive. 

Breaches could lead to layoffs
The financial losses associated with a breach go far beyond the incident itself. Customer churn numbers tend to spike following such an event, and the retailer no doubt expected to witness a similar trend given the amount of bad press it received. In addition, breach victims often attempt to extend an olive branch to affected clients by paying for associated damages and offering free credit reports to identify any lingering issues. These types of expenditures could adversely affect an organization's bottom line and push executives to cut costs in other areas including personnel.

Although Target officials claimed those layoffs were not connected to the breach in any way, at least one employee lost his job as a direct result of the incident. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel resigned this past June after 35 years with the company, including six in his most recent position. Forbes contributor Eric Basu noted that Target's CIO, Bob DeRodes also relinquished his role in the wake of the breach. Given how often fallout from a major breach can include removing key staff members, employees should be more cognizant of their responsibility to adhere to cybersecurity best practices.

"The loss of corporate data, violations of privacy laws and the degrading or total shutdown of business operations is becoming commonplace in today's connected environments. These incidents put every organization - and executive team member - at risk," Basu wrote. "This means each person on a company's management team must be armed with the requisite knowledge to make informed decisions about cybersecurity - not just an understanding of the basic concepts."

There are many different facets to a strong cybersecurity policy, so enterprise leaders must be well-versed in the different tools at their disposal. The days of anti-virus being the be-all and end-all of security are long gone - if they ever truly existed in the first place. Comprehensive coverage requires data security assets that address every conceivable vulnerability from networks to databases.

Secure sensitive data in all forms
One area that often goes overlooked by corporate executives is the need to protect all forms of data with encryption. In a business setting, it's not unusual to find that sensitive files are encrypted when stored on company servers. However, that protection does not always extend to data when it is on the move. Consider all the sensitive information that is passed internally between employees in the average day of a major enterprise. That's a lot of valuable data that could be intercepted by a cybercriminal with the right know-how.

Keeping this type of data secure requires high-quality SSL certificates from a reliable vendor. Only the best tools on the market can ensure that these resources effectively encrypt sensitive information and prevent intruders from accessing it. Cutting corners in this area could introduce new vulnerabilities to a business's overall security and increase the risk of a major breach. Open source SSL tools, for instance, have been cracked in the past, leaving many organizations scrambling to plug up holes in their defenses. A tried-and-true vendor will have the SSL certificates needed to prevent such cybersecurity scares from occurring. With these safeguards in place, enterprise leaders can rest easy knowing their place in the company will not be in jeopardy because of a damaging breach.

Enhance enterprise security with SSL encryption today.

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