The threat of a cyber breach on your small business' network isn't a paranoid fever dream: it's very real and very deadly. If your network gets taken down by a cybercriminal it can be the death of your small business. Your clients trust that you have a cybersecurity plan in place that protects their interests with your company. If you have failed to protect those interests, you had better hope your business insurance package is enough to cover the cost of damages.

Unless you take action, your business is a target. Cybercrime on small business is on the rise. Why? Small businesses are generally less protected and easier to crack.

To make sure you have a line of defense at the ready, hire a cybersecurity analyst. Are you still not convinced? Here are 3 reasons to place the job ad now:

− Small businesses are an easy cybersecurity target to hit. Small businesses generally do not have the same cyber defenses a large corporation has, both because of cost and the misconception that cybercriminals aren't interested in their business. This is untrue.

Small business data networks are significantly easier to hack into precisely because the company often does not have a cybersecurity defense in place. Property Casualty 360 reports that 62 percent of all small and mid-sized businesses have experienced a cyber breach, with financial services and healthcare being the hardest hit.

A cybersecurity analyst will conduct routine maintenance to the company's network and patch up any weak coding that could potentially be eroded and hacked through by a cybercriminal.

− Employee cyber mismanagement can be caught and corrected. According to Small Business Trends, 43 percent of small businesses are hit by a cyberattack. The cybercriminal's digital weapon of choice: the phishing email. Phishing campaigns use fraudulent emails that claim to be from legitimate senders, like the company's boss. The email will ask for secure information (usually financial account numbers or file passwords) to be sent to the head of the department for inspection. The unsuspecting employee will comply with the demands, thinking they are responding to a vetted source. Cybercriminals are then able to enter the network to seek and destroy at will.

A cyber analyst will be able to keep your staff abreast of the latest cyber scams and teach them to recognize a scam when they see it.

− Demonstrates that your small business makes customer confidentiality a priority. Customers value good business. You will build a loyal customer base if it's perceived that you are loyal to your customers. By taking a stand against cybercrime and hiring a cyber support system whose sole responsibility is the security of your network and data, you are demonstrating to the public that you take their confidentiality seriously and will do what you can as an organization to safeguard their sensitive information.

Data protection is vital to the success of a company. If a hacker is able to break into your system and steal or destroy highly sensitive material, you can bet that you will lose business. A cybersecurity analyst will help you to protect your network and cybersecurity insurance will protect your business. Click here for more cybersecurity details with CyberPolicy.