Past December, South Korea-based Cryptocurrency exchange Youbit shut down its door after it was hit by a cyber-attack (for the second time in 8 months). Only a week back, a Japanese Cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck was hacked, costing it more than $534 million. These instances of cyber-terrorism are not just limited to the crypto-community. The number of such digital attacks is increasing at a much quicker pace, spanning across industries. Did you know the average cost of a data breach will exceed $150 million by 2020? A research done by Microsoft confirms that the potential cost of cyber-crime to the world is about $500 billion. Another research done shows one hack-attack happen every 39 seconds. If these numbers don’t get you on alert about the security of your server, we don’t know what will! Even if you’re a small business owner, operating on a limited scale, you must take proactive measures to protect your digital infrastructure, given 43 percent of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses.

So here’s a direct question – when was the last time you did security auditing of your servers?

Can’t remember?

A simple and effortless server auditing from the right experts cannot only safeguard your business from critical cyber attacks but also fuel its growth and sustainability by adding efficiency to its functioning.

Here are 5 benefits of performing security audits of servers regularly:

1. To Protect Data of Your Customers

Customers only do business with those organizations that promise to protect their private information under any circumstance. Even a minor news leakage about data breach can risk their existence. This ought to tell you just how careful you must be in treating the privacy of your customers. You must take important steps to streamline with their expectations of high data security. Regular auditing can ensure your customers’ data remain safe. Plus, telling your audience about such security auditing happening on your infrastructure can help you build a reputable brand, which could subsequently bring you more business.

2. To Safeguard Your Internal Network

Imagine all the confidential information about your company’s operation and management hacked and produced in the public. Imagine what kind of damage it could do to your business, both financially and in reputation. Plus, your competitors can use the leaked information to easily edge and exploit your organization. Regular auditing of your security end can detect any possible loopholes in your systems’ internal framework. It can tell you if your security measures are sufficient to shield the goodwill and data of your business or you need to do more than what you have done. Such feedbacks can end up playing a critical role in safeguarding your internal network, hence your business.

3. To Comply With Local Laws

Given the rising threats of cyber-terrorists, governments around the world are taking important measures to counter the malicious attacks. From keeping a keen eye on the digital and cloud space to bringing new regulations for small and big companies to follow – they are doing it all. What policies and terms have your local government asked business like yours to follow? Majority usually asks the businesses to keep their infrastructure updated, have the best software installed, use the right layers of defense and follow the international data protection standards. Failing these, the government agency can take strict actions against the companies in question. Performing security audits will help you comply with your local laws.

4. To Identify and Resolve Problems At The Earliest

Just because nothing is evident doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist. Even when nothing looks wrong, problems exist on every server. There are always loopholes that hackers can use to exploit you. It is your task to identify these “minor” problems and fix them urgently before that problem increases and the attacker gets to know about it. Regular security auditing of your server can play a crucial role here. It can help you find any small and big glitches in your server. The sooner you know about such problems, quicker you can implement the right and most efficient solutions. This would always ensure your system is on the safer side.

5. To Monitor Efficiency and Overall Health

Imagine you’re filling a holed-glass with water. Of course, filling it fully will take some time and waste a lot of water because there’s a leakage. The same theory can be applied in a digital space. If you’re using ineffective and poor quality infrastructure, hardware and software, you’ll basically be wasting your resources. When you do security auditing of your server, it can help you monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of your infrastructure. If anything isn’t performing at an optimal level, it can provide you with the feedback regarding that. And then you can make changes in your system accordingly to ensure everything is performing at their best.

These are 5 simple benefits of doing regular security auditing of your server. It not only helps you protect your infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks but also fuel your business growth in one way or another. So if you haven’t done any auditing of your server at the security end in recent time, it’s time now that you do that. Find a good service provider who specializes in this department. But be extremely cautious to steer clear of bad and incompetent companies. You need someone by your side who has done end-to-end auditing of businesses of your type and delivered the clients good reward. There are many parameters that you can factor when selecting a good service provider.

Start by considering their experience and the kind of clients they have worked with. The more years of experience they have, the more you can rely on them. Next, know if they can work alongside a business like yours. Because different types of business bring their own unique challenges! Can they deliver on your individual needs and requirements?

In the end, simply talk to them directly. Ask them questions, know what processes or protocols do they follow when auditing, and what measures they can take if they detect any problem. Find the best service provider, do regular security auditing of your server and protect your business from the rising menace of cyber attacks.