2015 feels as though every week brings a new security breech, cyber-hackers, or other threats to our confidential information. The threats and actual attacks affected companies such as Walmart, Target, Apple, Home Depot, and many others near the top of the Fortune 500.

With these increasing threats becoming very real, it’s time to make your security plan for 2016 a top priority. As cyber-hackers increase their knowledge (no thanks to the deep web) these threats will become more mainstream, affecting companies of all sizes.

“There are two kinds of people in America today: those who have experienced a foreign cyber attack and know it, and those who have experienced a foreign cyber attack and don’t know it.” –Frank Wolf

So what can be done?

1. Hiring a full time security analyst. While this sounds easy, the demand for security analysts is sky-rocketing. In fact, this job field is projected to grow by 37% over the next year with a median pay of $87k. Having 1 or more full-time analysts can give you the constant testing needed to protect your company and your customers.

2. Work with a Penetration Testing Firm. These firms hire Certified Ethical Hackers who look for loopholes and weakness within your system. The price tag is a bit hefty, as you can expect to pay a decent salary for less work than a full time employee.

3. Barracuda Firewalls. Time tested and trusted by major corporations, Barracuda offers security that can protect your everywhere from your website, to your network, to your web-application (a common area of weakness).

If you want to learn more about Barracuda’s offerings, click here to send us your specific questions.

The benefits to implementing increased security are hard to measure, but it definitely shows your customers that you care about them and their security. Customers are looking for reassurance, carefully deciding with whom they can trust their sensitive information.

“People ask me all the time, ‘What keeps you up at night?’ And I say, ‘Spicy Mexican food, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber attacks.'” –Dutch Ruppersberger

Don’t let it keep you up, your security should be keeping the hackers up trying.