Back in 2016, more than $1 billion was extorted from individuals and organizations by cybercriminals. When you factor in costs associated with cybercrime, including remediation, lost productivity, consulting, legal, etc., the cost balloons to an estimated $50 billion! While we may not have the numbers for 2018, we can tell that online criminal activity is still going strong. After all, with cybercrime being the leading generator of revenue for criminals – so we don’t see them hanging up their hats any time soon.

For this reason, the topic of cybersecurity has become an essential business conversation. So we’re relieved to have Mike Moran, co-founder and president of the IT implementation and professional services firm Affiliated, back on unsuitable on Rea Radio to tell us where the “smart guys” are investing their IT security dollars and how small- to mid-sized business owners can follow their lead.

Cyber Attacks Happen to Everyone

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’re safe from cyber crime just because you’re a small business or an individual – cyber attacks can and do happen to everyone. Mike shares the story of a how one criminal stole over $1.4 million running a real estate scam via email, using software that’s readily accessible to anyone with the know-how to find and use it.

If you own any kind of modern technology, or use technology to help you run your business, you are potentially at risk and will be interested in these other topics discussed in this episode:

• Smart Guys are investing in Assessments and Network Reviews to identify their exposures and develop plans to address them
  
  
• Smart IT Teams are investing in detection tools to detect possible malfeasance and take steps to respond faster, or even prevent issues from affecting the environment
  
  
• Smart Organizations are also upgrading their infrastructure to take advantage of better tools, capabilities, and productivity offered in the newest versions of the devices needed to operate their systems

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