Corporate Data Loss
Large volumes of corporate data are an asset to every business and the breach or loss of such data could have wide ranging implications. The risks have recently increased further, following the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Failure to adequately protect data, or to report breaches of personal data in a timely manner to the ICO could result in heavy fines as well as damage to the company’s reputation.
External Threats
As a common application, crucial to the operation of most businesses, email has become a popular way for cyber criminals to exploit organisations. Phishing scams, conducted via email, are one example of a common cyber threat that work by infecting systems with malware, costing businesses in terms of downtime, reputation and remedial services.
Operational Dependency
Most businesses are dependent on email to conduct business operations. If email suddenly becomes unavailable, the whole business stops operating. This costs money, damages reputation, presents the potential loss of business and leads to extremely frustrated employees.
How can you mitigate these critical business risks?
Whilst no business is immune from these critical business risks, there are a number of steps that organisations can take to mitigate the chances of being affected by them.
Firstly, businesses should consider moving from legacy email infrastructure to the cloud. This will help to improve availability including access from a variety of devices and the ability to increase storage space quickly. Cloud based email also benefits from simple integration with other cloud solutions. Microsoft Office 365 is one great example of a cloud based email solution, which is integrated with multiple solutions.
However, as many businesses are now using cloud solutions such as Office 365, they could be considered to be less secure as they are a great target for cyber criminals. Already, 40% of businesses that use Office 365 are reliant on third parties to address security and compliance gaps.
There are a number of solutions, such as Mimecast, that help to address security and compliance gaps for email based in the cloud and if the worst happens, will still allow you access to your emails. As the saying goes, two clouds are better than one!
To discuss your current email solution, or how the cloud can be leveraged to increase email security, prevent data loss and support operational dependency, simply contact us.
