A security assessment is an evaluation of the current state of your organization's cybersecurity or physical security. Conducting security assessments regularly allows businesses to identify potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities in their security systems, which can then be addressed before they become major problems. These major problems can also turn into unplanned expensive costs. 

Why You Need Security Assessments

A good example of this is when a company hires a new employee who has access to sensitive areas, information or data—if they don't perform any sort of background check beforehand, they may end up hiring someone who isn't qualified for the position and could cause harm if given access to sensitive information.

This type of scenario would require some sort of remediation plan (like removing that person from their position) before any real damage occurs; however, if this had been done during regular security audits instead of after-the-fact due diligence checks like checking references and criminal history records, then perhaps there wouldn't have been such dramatic results from recent breaches like Equifax's hack where 143 million people were affected by identity theft issues caused by insecure management practices within their IT department. Not only thinking of the monetary settlement costs but the entire incident at scale, including downtime, the hit to company reputation and more, consider how much this breach actually cost Equifax. 

Therefore, the financial benefits of a security assessment can be significant to any business. Here, we discuss the top financial benefits of security assessments including cost savings, increased productivity, risk reduction, data security, business continuity, compliance, and continued customer satisfaction. 

1. Cost Savings

The cost savings that can be achieved by implementing a security assessment are many. The most obvious is the reduction in costs associated with data breaches, malware or ransomware attacks, and downtime. This can include customer dissatisfaction and distrust, which results in loss of revenue.

Another way to look at this is through an ROI (return on investment) analysis:

• Reducing the likelihood of a breach means less money spent on remediating it.
• A more secure network reduces downtime, which saves money on repairs as well as lost productivity while systems are down.

2. Increased Productivity

Security assessments help identify vulnerabilities before they become problems. This means there will be:

• Reduced time spent on manual security processes.
• Improved access to data and applications.
• Improved security posture.

3. Risk Reduction

Data breaches can be costly, both in terms of money and reputation. The Ponemon Institute has found that the average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million, with companies losing an average of $141 per record exposed in 2018. In addition to the financial impact, there's also a reputational hit: customers become dissatisfied with their service providers when they learn about these breaches and may choose not to do business with them again.

Security assessments help you identify gaps in your security posture before they become problems--and save you from having to deal with them after-the-fact!

4. Data Security

Data security is a major concern for businesses, and it's only getting more important. As the world becomes increasingly digital, data breaches are becoming more common and damaging. This means that companies must be vigilant about protecting customer information from hackers and other digital threats.

A security assessment can help you identify potential weaknesses in your data security measures so that you can take steps to improve them before an attack occurs. For example, if an auditor finds that some employees have access to sensitive information without proper authorization or training on how best to handle it, then they will recommend taking action immediately. This can look like: removing those individuals from their roles until they complete training and pass tests demonstrating their competency; implementing stricter controls over who has access; requiring additional authentication methods when accessing sensitive data—the list goes on!

In a recent post, we also break down why data security is important to physical security as well. Check it out, here! 

5. Business Continuity

When you have an assessment, your security team will be able to identify weaknesses in your current infrastructure and make recommendations on how to improve it. This can include things like:

• Reducing risk of downtime by improving disaster recovery plans.
• Improving customer satisfaction by ensuring that data is kept secure and private.

Security assessments also help with business continuity planning, which is crucial for any company looking to grow its customer base or expand into new markets. If something happens that causes you to lose access to all of your data—whether it's because of malware infection or natural disaster—you want a plan in place so that there isn't any downtime at all!

6. Compliance

When you're in compliance with industry regulations, your customers trust and respect your brand. This can lead to better customer satisfaction and loyalty.

7. Customer Satisfaction

A security assessment can improve customer satisfaction and retention on the fundamental of trust. A more secure environment will make customers feel safer and more comfortable with the brand, which can lead to increased loyalty.

In addition, a security assessment can help you identify areas where your current customers are struggling with their experience of using your products or services. This allows you to improve the user experience so that people who need help get it faster and easier than before—and those who don't need assistance don't have to wait around for long periods of time while someone else gets help from an agent or representative.

Financial Benefits Overview: 

A security assessment covering both cyber security and physical security, can offer the following financial advantages: 

• Reduce costs by identifying areas where your company is vulnerable to attack or invasion, and then taking steps to fix those problems.
• Improve efficiency by helping you identify potential threats before they have time to cause damage or cost you money.
• Increase revenue by improving customer satisfaction and retention rates, which in turn leads to higher profits.

Ready to strengthen the security posture of your business?  Schedule your assessment with Grab The Axe today. Our team of total security solutions experts will provide you with a comprehensive evaluation and the critical expertise needed to lock your digital doors from the modern threatscape.