Applications have become a crucial aspect of any business operations. From shopping apps to banking and travel apps, software helps customers interact, store information, and make transactions.
But many companies still ignore how important app security is. They think hackers won’t target them, or that simple security is enough to stay safe. That’s where they make a massive mistake.
The reality is greater. Cyberattackers are adopting new tricks to harm your systems. They look for weak spots in websites and apps to steal personal and financial information, mess up systems, or demand money.
Even large companies like Equifax, SolarWinds, and Twitter’s Bitcoin scam show that any company can be hacked. No one is completely safe. Hence, ignoring AppSec is a critical business risk that can damage your reputation and cause financial losses.
This blog discusses the key business risks of neglecting application security services and how organizations can protect themselves.
Why Do Businesses Ignore Application Security?
Well, there are several factors that contribute to AppSec ignorance. So, it’s crucial to understand why companies overlook application security:
- Many companies believe that they are too small to be targeted. However, studies show that SMBs often get more cyberattacks due to their weak defenses.
- They assume that security slows down development. But, they should remember that if they don’t comply with security early, it can lead to costly affairs.
- The biggest aspect of ignoring AppSec is that they think our firewall and antivirus are enough. But organizations don’t know that traditional security can not stop. They need to deal with advanced threats like SQL injections or API hacks.
So, if you ignore any one factor mentioned above, your business can become an easy target for hackers.
Key Business Risks of Ignoring Application Security Services
Let’s look at some serious business risks that can hurt your IT systems, slow down your work, and damage your company’s reputation in the market.
1. Financial Losses From Cybersecurity Attacks
A single breach can cause significant financial damage and bring a company down. According to reports, the average cost of a breach is $4.45 million. The number is staggering, isn’t it? And it goes even higher for regulated industries like healthcare or finance.
But how do financial losses happen?
In most cases, ransomware attacks force businesses to pay huge amounts to regain access to their system. Additionally, every minute your app is down, you will lose revenue. Apart from that, you will have to pay regulatory fines. For Example, GDPR penalties up to 4%, and CCPA fines up to $7,500 per violation.
Let’s look at an example:
In 2017, Equifax that checks people’s credit didn’t fix a known problem in their system. Because of that, hackers got access to personal data of 147 million people. The company ended up paying over $1.7 billion in fines and settlements.
2. Damage to Reputation
These days, customers expect their data to be safe. But if your app gets hacked, people lose trust in your business. This can lead to serious problems like:
- Customer Loss: People may stop using your service and go to your competitors.
- Bad News Coverage: The media might report the breach, giving your brand a bad name for a long time.
- Declining sales and investor confidence: After a cybersecurity attack, most customers fear data loss. It can diminish investor confidence to a large extent.
For Example, in 2020, a Twitter (X) Bitcoin scam happened. In this, high-profile accounts were hacked, and the company had to face massive backlash. Additionally, its stock prices dropped by 4% overnight.
3. Consequences Related to Legal
Laws like GDPR/HIPAA say that businesses must keep customer data safe. If you do not implement cybersecurity services, you could lose money as well as your reputation can be damaged. Additionally, you could also get into legal trouble or be fined by the government.
- You may have to pay heavy fines. For Example, in 2018, British Airways was fined £20 million for a breach.
- People affected by a hack might sue your company together.
- Government agencies might check your systems more strictly.
4. Intellectual Property Theft
One of the biggest drawbacks of ignoring AppSec security is theft of intellectual property. Hackers don’t just steal customer data; they also target these things:
- Any type of proprietary software code.
- Cyber intruders also steal trade secrets and business strategies.
- Cyber fraudsters can even steal your unreleased product designs.
If these data get stolen or compromised, they can be sold to competitors or leaked online, thereby destroying the company’s competitive edge.
5. Operational Workflow Downtime
Attacks like malware, or ransomware can slow down your business. Let’s see what it can do:
- Close crucial applications and halt business operations.
- Attacks can delay product launches due to security patches.
- It can increase IT recovery costs, such as forensic investigations and system rebuilds.
For Example, the NotPetya ransomware attack cost Maersk over $300 million in downtime and other recovery expenditures.
6. Increased Cost of Post-Breach
Fixing a security flaw after a breach costs more than preventing it. It could include security updates and patches. Additionally, it takes a PR and crisis management team to rebuild your trust with users through various channels.
How Can You Reduce Application Security Risks?
The first step is to stay alert and take security seriously. You can consult with a cybersecurity services provider to prevent breaches. They have the right expertise and AppSec techniques to prevent cyberattacks from happening.
Application security services help keep your app safe at every step of its development.
Here’s how they do it:
- They test your app often to find and fix weak spots before hackers take advantage of them.
- They teach developers how to write safer code and avoid common mistakes.
- They block harmful traffic and stop hackers from breaking into your app through APIs.
- They use strict rules so that only trusted people can access certain parts of the system.
Conclusion
If your app is not secured, then it can cause big problems for your business. You might lose a lot of money, face legal trouble, damage your reputation, or even have your operations break down.
Cyberattacks are only getting more common, so it’s really important to get help from application security services. They can protect your important systems, keep your customers happy, and make sure people continue to trust your brand.
Author Profile
- I am the owner of the blog readree.com. My love for technology began at a young age, and I have been exploring every nook and cranny of it for the past eight years. In that time, I have learned an immense amount about the internet world, technology, Smartphones, Computers, Funny Tricks, and how to use the internet to solve common problems faced by people in their day-to-day lives. Through this blog, I aim to share all that I have learned with my readers so that they can benefit from it too. Connect with me : Sabinbaniya2002@gmail.com
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