Scaling cybersecurity for start-ups

You have hired the most creative professionals for design, guided the development team throughout the process and launched an experiential marketing campaign for promotions. Your never-before-executed product is getting attention and appreciation.

However, security was always talked about in context with compliance, before getting certification. This is the time when the competitive edge is used to compete against you hackers.?

Why? Because while you wear multiple hats to support the growth of your startup, its appearance on trending charts and inner circles is the green signal for hackers to don their black hats and target your business.

It’s tougher for startups because of their x factor. They make it without sufficient resources, funds or people. The eventual goal of startup leaders is to expand beyond borders and despite competition. However, something else that is reaching an all-time high is the number of cyberattacks.

The more you stand out in numbers and through vision, the more threats you are surrounded by. The core of the startup is based on creativity and innovation. Breaking the mould and stereotypes needs brave decisions and risk-oriented steps. How do you grow when the constant danger of becoming a cyberattack victim lingers?

Security may increase when creativity is discouraged and competition is ignored but the comfort zone means losing out in all aspects. Not prioritizing cybersecurity is not only delaying growth but also handing the opportunity to other businesses that are unafraid to take chances and are prepared to step outside their comfort zones.

Safeguarding Startups

Reports show that more than 40% of data breach victims were small businesses. So, why is it assumed that startups don’t need a dedicated professional team to lead and secure their data and assets?

You might think cybersecurity can become a priority in the later stages when a specific milestone is reached or when there is an expansion in the threat landscape. But are these reasons enough to push security to the back burner?

No favour or discrimination based on size

Your business does not have to cross the 50-100-50 rule to grab the attention of the bad actors. The run rate of your startup’s revenue can be less than $50 million, your team can still have fewer than 100 employees and its worth can be lower than $500 million. It does not deter hackers from attacking your business.

Whether it is the mainstream business that rules the TV campaigns or Gen Z’s favourite environmental-conscious upcoming brand – both have humungous amounts of data. Data is power everyone wants to get hold of. However, for people with malicious intentions, it is a currency that can be used against leaders who can be owners of MNCs or co-founders of emerging start-ups.

In the latter case, coming out of a crisis like ransomware or a phishing attack is even tougher. Imagine spending on marketing, rebranding and answering the questions of the media in case of an unexpected event. Add to that, the efforts needed to reposition your business as a reliable brand. Consumers today are aware, empowered and unafraid to support or switch when the promised principles don’t align with the actual actions.

The lost trust of customers means a loss in business making the dream of scaling distant and delayed.

Use of your vulnerability as their advantage

A lack of cybersecurity means fewer efforts are required to break in. Not keeping cybersecurity on the priority list or relying on a well-marketed security solution can mean two things. First, it may not be suitable for your business and second, there would be the creation of loopholes left unrecognized and unaddressed.

The employees have to devote more hours to deal with the aftermath while the financial pressure (related to downtime and recovery) on the already short-on-funds startup leaves them feeling insecure. There exists a shortage of skilled cybersecurity talent and if your team faces low productivity and eventual burnout, who will come to the rescue?

Calculating cost of downtime can get easy with the help of the following formulae:

Lost Revenue = (Revenue/hour)/ Downtime in hrs x Uptime in hrs

Lost Productivity per annum = Number of employees x Average Annual Salary x Rate of Efficiency

Downtime Cost = Lost Profit + Lost Productivity + Recovery Cost + Intangible Cost

It can provide an estimate of the monetary amount that has been lost during downtime.

Cybersecurity as a competitive determiner

·? ? ? ? Protecting today’s ideas to safeguard tomorrow’s revenue: Futuristic ideas need protection, before they can get executed and introduced in the real world. It is not just the PII data of your customers that is valuable,? your intellectual property is as efficient. New concepts support business scaling and cybersecurity can assure if the decision to expand is a mature step or not.

For example, cybersecurity can help in figuring out the probability that the data (inventive idea or concept) could be leaked through the involvement of a third party. Scaling in such a case should be avoided to protect the competitive advantage.

·? ? ? ? Making cybersecurity a part and a priority: When cybersecurity is exercised internally through awareness and practice – it improves the performance, trust and transparency of the business. Investment in research and development then seeps into the design and development stage of the product.

Externally, through alignment with the clients, it helps in managing the data in the supply chain over which they share the control with third parties. Keeping them aware of the standards they need to follow can bring everyone on the same page. Also, there is no need to spend more on marketing and promotions – security is the sellable attribute here.

Adaptability is essential for growth in the long run. For businesses to survive - inflation, recession, political instability, global crisis and similar situations — flexibility becomes necessary to allow for the development of innovative products and services.

It is essential that one-of-a-kind and out-of-the-box products are secure enough to not jeopardize data and brand identity. Cybersecurity support helps startups get ahead of the competition without a large financial or in-kind investment.