7 January 2021

Security Explained: 5 Reasons IT Security is Paramount

Taking the proper security precautions is integral to smooth business operations. Below, we’ve listed some of the reasons our customers have used our cybersecurity services. They are relatable to all industries and not just the ones mentioned below. For Cyrex, we believe that security has to be a priority, not an afterthought.

1. Protect Your Reputation

After a hack, there are often serious hits to a company and its reputation. Damage to a company or product’s reputation is often twofold.

Firstly, there is the damage to their customer’s faith in them. This is hard to quantify but it may be something that will stand in memory and perhaps affect future client decisions.

Secondly, more tangible effects manifest in several ways. Alongside reputational damage, financial damage is often implied. In linking with our next point, violation of regulations and regulatory bodies such as a client’s privacy can result in hefty fines. GDPR is something all companies are intricately familiar with. And if you are in healthcare, HIPAA is an additional level of privacy for patients. Should a hack result in customer, client, or patient privacy violations, you will have to prepare to pay that price.

2. Compliance and Regulation

As above, many of our clients come to us to ensure their security is in order due to the requirements of certification and regulatory compliance. GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, HIPAA in the healthcare industry, all have strict and immovable requirements to guarantee the security and privacy of clients. In the Casinos and Gaming industry, there are strict, mandatory security regulations.

These all fall under what is often referred to as the CIA Triad in the information security sector. CIA or confidentiality, integrity, and availability is effectively the guarantee of privacy and protection against unauthorised access. With availability ensuring that the authorised users are not restricted in their access to the systems and resources they require.

Without the proper security precautions and investments, the privacy offered on both sides of client and company cannot be guaranteed.

3. Customer Requirements

Outside of typical security concerns, some of our clients are often seeking to sell their application or service to a larger company. As a part of this sale cycle, there are comprehensive checklists and requirements to do so. The larger company will refuse to onboard any new application without it measuring up to their application security standards.

On this checklist, as a major box to tick, will be the requirement of security. Its presence in the system and proof of the security being checked and tested. This is where Cyrex penetration testing comes into play for our clients. The buying company needs to see that security has not been left as an afterthought and that there is an ensured, tested security to the end-user.

Without this and a proper, thorough penetration test, there is almost a guarantee of a no-sale.

4. Maturing Your Environment

This doesn’t exactly mean growing up. It’s more about the infrastructure and software within your company and product or system. There are many ways this happens and in the case of security, it is focused on risk awareness and management.

Being aware of the risks is hugely important but it’s only half the battle. At Cyrex, we emphasise the importance of not just knowing the risks but being in control of them.

In maturing your environment, controlling your risks is paramount to the extended security and safety of your system. In seeking to mature your environment through security, you learn a lot and increase your control of risk management. Penetration testing is a great example of this management. As a strong technical measure to guarantee the quality of the product and the professionalism of your company.

5. Sharing and Learning

In a similar vein to seeking out maturity in your company’s operation, our teams have noticed the benefits of communication and cooperation with the internal security or developers. The transfer of knowledge and our security expertise has both short and long-term benefits. Both in immediately implementing security but also allowing these in-house developers to learn.

As they become much more aware of typical cybersecurity pitfalls and vulnerabilities, they’ll be able to continue in a better and more secure manner through their development. In this way and linking with the above point, in seeking out security and maturity, our client’s developers can become much more aware of the security side of development.

With these reasons in mind and our security expertise, we have helped our clients feel secure and reassured as to their continued safety and operation. Working with security as a priority and not an afterthought, allows our clients to remain safe from reputational damage and to work within the regulations that are required of them.

Check out our Security Report to see how you can best protect your business.

With over 15 years of industry experience, whether your need is development or security, we’ll always be on hand. No matter your system or industry! Contact us today to find out how we can help you.