The business world has become more competitive than ever. Not only is there increased pressure on companies to be profitable, but also to keep information safe. For many companies, cybersecurity is an area that’s easy to cut back on, but that can prove to be an expensive mistake. According to the PwC Global Economic Crime Report, cybercrime is now the second most reported economic crime, affecting 31 percent of organizations.

The percentage is high, and if cybersecurity doesn’t become a priority in business, it will certainly get higher. As the leader and owner of a company, do you know which cybersecurity vulnerabilities your organization may have right now? Let’s take a look:

1. Lack of Policies that Prevent Most Common Threats

The first and most apparent vulnerability in any system relates to security fundamentals. Today, every company needs a cybersecurity policy to set security standards. Specific, well-established practices such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) have proven risky and need to be strictly governed. According to the 2018 Verizon Mobile Security Index, 74 percent of businesses say that their mobile security risks have gone up in the past year. Therefore, if you haven’t set strict security standards for your employees to follow, it’s time to start.

2. Reactive Mindset

Due to resource constraints, many organizations will do only the bare minimum when it comes to cybersecurity. However, in this day and age, covering the basics is not enough. Waiting for an attack to happen and then reacting is a sure-fire way for you to be much worse off when everything is over than if you had taken proper steps to protect your assets.

While having a reaction plan in place is generally considered good practice, that can’t be the extent of your cybersecurity solutions. Considering how fast cybersecurity threats are evolving, investing in proactive security solutions is quickly becoming a must for businesses.

3. The Human Factor

According to Experian’s 2018 Managing Insider Risk Through Training and Culture Report, 66 percent of surveyed professionals felt that employees posed the greatest vulnerability when it came to cyberthreats.

This isn’t unexpected, considering that the human factor is usually the weakest link in any security system. While training can help to eliminate the most common causes of human error in cybersecurity, described as “general carelessness,” it isn’t enough.

When you take into consideration the fact that a majority of organizations face phishing email attacks frequently, the scope of the problem falls into perspective. Even when employees are rigorously trained, mistakes happen. All it takes is one careless reaction to a suspicious email.

This is why we must work on solutions that prevent phishing cyberattacks before they even reach your employees’ inboxes. Area 1 Security’s Anti-Phishing solution offers precisely that, by spotting phishing attacks days in advance.

Businesses today might be even more vulnerable than they seem to their owners. It’s crucial for every C-level executive to know precisely what type of damage a data breach can inflict, and which proactive solutions can prevent it from happening. When it comes to phishing attacks, you’ll be far safer with Area 1 Horizon, the anti-phishing technology that neutralizes today’s most dangerous cybersecurity threats.

Guest article by Kim Del Fierro, VP of Marketing for Area 1 Security