For companies, cyber threats get MORE costly!

Cyber security will become an increasingly complex and costly part of doing business, but caution and preparedness is a better alternative than getting hacked or duped by cyber thieves, security experts have stated.

IT managers are grappling with vulnerabilities and security risks as companies move more of their networking operations off-site and into the so-called data cloud, and as more personal computing is done on smart phones and mobile devices.

Companies are also facing increasingly high stakes for preventing security breaches, as both clients and the government demand that companies do more to protect themselves from security lapses.

Outbreaks of attacks in recent months and years show a growing push by organized crime, sovereign nations and internet activists to exploit weaknesses in the data security of US networks and their users.

The websites of large banks, for example, have been hit with what are called 'denial-of-service' attacks. While banks have not reported sensitive customer data being stolen during these attacks, their websites have repeatedly crahsed forcing customers to bank offline.

A big concern for IT managers is the growing demand that companies let their workers use their own personal devices - be it laptops, tablets or smart phones - to connect with a companies servers.

Known as BYOD (Bring you own device), the trend is proving to be a nightmare for IT managers. In essence thay now have to secure something they don't have control over.

Small businesses, which typically lack the IT expertise, are particularly vulnerable and appear to be more of the focus of hackers' attention.

A continued sign of the growing threat is the emergence of Cyber Liability insurance policies to help businesses deal with the costly aftermath of a cyber attack.

Becuase standard General Liability insurance policies will not protect from a cyber attack, insurers have introduced specialty coverage that can help defray costs of a breach. This can include the costs of notifying customers, conducting forensic investigations and even liability for class-action lawsuits.