marketing and cybersecurity

We all know the potential cost of cybercrime for a business. You lose access to your data, and trying to recover it – if at all possible – is an expensive exercise. It’s a big headache for your security and IT teams, and a headache for senior leadership.

But you’re in marketing. So why should you be concerned?

After all, your purview is more the image of the company. You care about your website, social media, and that the brand image is properly represented.

Think again. A cybersecurity breach is everyone’s problem. For starters, it can seriously damage the brand’s reputation. Think back to the Equifax hack in 2017, when millions of users’ personal information were exposed.

Equifax’s reputation took a serious knock as a result of this scandal. Be honest now, how comfortable would you be entrusting your personal details to a company that was unable to keep them safe?

And, when I say personal details, I don’t mean credit card information. I mean the details that most of us provide companies with when we open some sort of account or loyalty card. That’s your full names, identity numbers, address, and telephone numbers.

It’s simple, everyday information, but it’s still very useful to hackers. If your client’s details are hacked, and it becomes public knowledge, how many people are going to feel safe giving you their details ever again?

In the best light, the company comes off as incompetent or inadequately prepared to handle a security breach. Either way, it’s not a pretty picture.

From the outside, it may seem that not enough has been done, even if the company has installed a solid antivirus like BitDefender, has configured strong firewalls, and trained its personnel sufficiently to abide by the best security practices.

People might look at the company and wonder how much care it takes in other areas. How well are production lines managed? How much care is taken to ensure exacting standards are met. If you’re a company trying to set itself apart by providing a higher standard of service, a cybersecurity breach can be disastrous.

Aside from that, it could have a very real negative impact on the company’s sales. Who would now want to purchase from your site, knowing that it has been hacked before?

Most people would want to keep their personal details as far away from your company as possible. It would not matter that the breach had been detected and that counter-measures had been employed. People would still be skittish about entrusting their details.

And that is the most important reason why the marketing department has to take note of breaches. At the end of the day, it is them that will need to work on rebuilding the client’s trust.

A cybersecurity breach can strain client relations. It takes careful handling to get the clients back on track and buying again. And, try as they might, that is something that is way out of the league of the security department.

That’s a job for the marketing team. And now that you’re onboard, here are some key facts and figures you need to know:

Infographic source: BestVPNs

Josh Wardini, Editorial Contributor and Community Manager at Websitebuilder.org.uk. With a preliminary background in communication and expertise in community development, Josh works day-to-day to reshape the human resource management of digitally based companies. When his focus trails outside of community engagement, Josh enjoys the indulgences of writing amidst the nature conservations of Portland, Oregon.