Why Should You Take IT Security Seriously?

The lax attitude to cyber security by a large percentage of internet users never fails to amaze and bamboozle IT security specialists. People seem to have a blasé attitude towards their online safety, probably because they do not believe anything will happen to them. After all, there are more than 1.1 billion websites worldwide, so what are the chances of criminals targeting theirs? That is the wrong attitude to have and one that could prove highly costly both in the short and long term.

It does not matter if your website is a personal blog, is dedicated to your local book club, is full of guides about spread vs moneyline betting, or is a massive corporation like Amazon or Netflix, the security of your little corner of the internet should be your number one priority. Why should that be the case? Find out by continuing reading.

Prevent Loss and Theft

There are unscrupulous people in the big wide world that love nothing more than causing disruption to others’ lives. Some people make it their life’s work to hack websites and steal the data stored within them. These criminals prefer to get their hands on personal and financial data for obvious reasons, but seizing control of a website and using it to promote their ill-gotten wares or use it as part of a botnet also ranks highly in the reasons why hackers target websites and blogs.

According to Statista, there were 1,802 cases of compromised data among major established companies in the United States in 2022. Those breaches affected more than 422 million individuals! Throw into the mix personal websites and leaks that went undetected, and the number of cases soars into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

Almost all of the data breaches Statista reported involved the stealing and selling of personal data. This is terrible for those companies’ customers. However, a lack of internet security could leave your website vulnerable to attack, where all your posts and settings are deleted. Would losing everything you have worked for affect you in any way? Could you afford to spend countless hours trying to retake control of what is rightfully yours?

Website Security Can Be a Legal Requirement

Having robust cyber security can be a legal requirement depending on your location and whether or not you store information about customers and your website’s visitors. Government agencies take data protection laws deadly seriously and are permitted to issue massive fines to any company that does not comply.

For example, in 2020, the British ICO issued Marriott International with a €20.4 million ($23.8 million) fine for failing to secure its customers’ data. Three years earlier, credit agency Equifax paid a $575 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all 50 U.S. states after an investigation found Equifax failed to fix a vulnerability in its security and for failing to inform the public about a data breach.

Secure Sites Build Confidence For Your Customers and Readers

Having a secure website instills confidence in its visitors, especially if you process payments of any kind. Even the non-tech savvy among us knows to look for the little padlock in their internet browser to show a website is secure.

Utilizing and displaying the security measure you take, including your privacy policy and how you handle and store data, is important to your website’s visitors and any potential customers that discover you. Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. Would you rather enter your personal and financial data into a website that has state-of-the-art cyber security, or would you choose a business or company that seemingly throws caution to the win and leaves everything down to chance?

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