The Effect of Cybersecurity on Organizational Performance
The internet has become an integral part of businesses, regardless of their size. It is through the internet that business carries out their advertisements, payment processes, and data storage. However, the resourcefulness of the internet does come at a price, cyber attacks. The internet has become a breeding ground for criminal gangs spying on vulnerable organizations’ systems and striking hard when they least expect it (Layton 2016). Speaking from my experience while on an internship at Bank solutions, I echo Layton’s sentiments that hackers strike hard and when we least expect.
It was on Tuesday morning, just like any other day. I was having my mid-morning coffee after receiving a brief from my instructor on what do to during my afternoon shift at the company IT department. Suddenly, I heard deafening alarms coming from the company’s server room. Within minutes, the IT manager dashed into our open office and instructed everybody to stop whatever they were doing and step away from the computers. He said that the company was under a cyber attack. Unauthorized personnel had managed to infiltrate into the company’s data center remotely and extracted some sensitive information. Amidst the commotion and the company’s public telephone lines were kept buzzing after every second. The public had already received the information that the company was under attack, and probably clients were calling to confirm if their data were safe.
The following six hours were marked by a thorough frisking of all the company’s employees’ devices in including personal laptops and phones following the company’s data security breach policy. When all was done, we were instructed to leave the company’s premises and await further instruction from the human resource manager. I went home, and when immediately opened the data, my Facebook timeline was buzzing with notifications. The incidence was already trending on social media platforms with different people giving their own versions of the story. I came to later learn from my coworker that the company had suffered a tremendous financial loss. The hackers had managed to make fraudulent transfers and ransom payment after a ransomware infection. The company was facing an indefinite closure which meant the loss of productivity and business.
Besides the immediate loss of operation, the company was facing long-term reputation damage following the breach of some of its client’s personal data. The company had tried to conceal the information about the cyber breach to minimize harm to its reputation, but the word was already out and trending on the internet. Instead, there attempted cover-ups further exacerbated reputation damage and loss of public trust. Amidst this tragic environment, the company was also facing the risk of regulatory and civil liability for the data breaches. Refsdal, Solhaug and Stølen (2015) argue that affected customers and business partners have the legal right to file for a lawsuit against the company. Several months passed without any signs of operation, and finally, the company managed to overcome its darkest moment but never fully recovered from the damaged reputation it faced.
From this experience, I must say I enjoyed the way the company’s IT department responded to the whole situation. Their response was first enough, and within minutes they were able to recover the control of the company server system. Finally, I would like the company to improve on its cybersecurity system by sealing all possible loopholes that can be exploited by hackers in the future. Also, the company needs work on its public relation in times of crisis by initiating open communication with the public.