By the year 2021, cyber-crime will cost the world economy an estimated $6 Trillion per year, says an article on Forbes. With attacks typically costing over $15 Million apiece for American businesses. That’s double the global average, according to an article from CNN Money.

The cost for a hacker to commit cyber-crimes like DDoSing are down. For less than $40, a hacker can attack a company for an entire hour. On the other hand, that same hour will cost an unprotected business $40,000 according to the above CNN article.

A good example of cyber-crime is the WannaCry Virus. It’s the ransomware that affected people’s lives in over 150 out of 195 countries, if you don’t count Taiwan as a country. There’s a 77% chance that you are in a country that was afflicted. Around 200,000 computers were affected. The recently charged hacker responsible for WannaCry, is also accused of being responsible for the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Vulnerabilities exist in all computers and all networks. It can take as little as a few seconds for a hacker to gain control of a network or system. Once they have control, they can do whatever they want. Instead of waiting to protect yourself, a more preventative solution would be to hire someone to break into your system. That may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s the only way to stay safe in today’s world. A network vulnerability scan is the recommended place to start. As the IoT expand, network attacks are becoming more and more frequent, and the cost of these attacks will go up with it.

Find a reputable provider for security services. They operate under titles like network vulnerability scanner or penetration tester. It involves a trained expert personally going through your technology, similar to a criminal hacker but with one big difference. The professional will find all security flaws, and either fix them, or give you the tools to get it fixed. Every day, cyber criminals work tirelessly to compromise small business data. Fight back with your own team of trained cyber security.

Estimates from Forbes, state that business have around 85% of their assets stored digitally. Being proactive and getting a vulnerability test done, can save this data from being lost forever.

Losing money and data aren’t even the only danger to consider. Do you have a long email list stored somewhere? Most people do. How will your clients and friends feel if you allow their email addresses get stolen? Losing trust from clients can be devastating to a business. Friendships might not fare well either. Do you make credit card transactions online? Whether personal or professional, don’t let your information get stolen.

Is it possible that a co-worker may have opened up an email they shouldn’t have? What if that small mistake put a doomsday virus on your computer? How would you know without checking? Do you think the generic antivirus software is enough?

Some viruses are very advanced and could lay undetected in your system for years. Many can be found by Antivirus software, but if it’s new, the Antivirus might not even be looking for it… If you’re smart enough to hire an accountant to take care of your money, you know a cyber security professional should be in charge of your cyber security.