It’s not just cybercriminals who hack into networks and steal data.

Most business owners and leaders erroneously think cybercrime is limited to hackers based in China or Russia, but the evidence is overwhelming that disgruntled employees, both of your company and your vendors, can cause significant losses due to their knowledge of your organization and access to your data and systems.

What damage can they do?

  • They leave with YOUR company’s files. Employees can take your client data and confidential information stored on their personal devices, as well as retain access to cloud applications, such as social media sites and file-sharing sites (Dropbox or OneDrive, for example), that your IT department doesn’t know about or forgets to change the password to.

    In fact, according to an in-depth study conducted by Osterman Research, 69% of businesses experience data loss due to employee turnover, and 87% of employees who leave take data with them. What do they do with that information? Sell it to competitors, BECOME a competitor, or retain it to use at their next job.

  • Funds, inventory, trade secrets, client lists, and HOURS stolen. There are dozens of sneaky ways employees steal, and it’s happening a LOT more than businesses care to admit. According to the website StatisticBrain, 75% of all employees have stolen from their employers at some point. From stealing inventory to check and credit card fraud, your hard-earned money can easily be stolen over time in small amounts that you never catch.

    Here’s the most COMMON way they do it: They waste HOURS of time on your dime to do personal errands, shop, play games, check social media feeds, gamble, and do a LONG list of non-work-related activities. Of course, YOU are paying them for a 40-hour week, but you might only be getting half of that. Then they complain about being “overwhelmed” and “overworked.” They tell you, “You need to hire more people!” so you do. All of this is a giant suck on profits if you allow it.

    Further, if your IT company is not monitoring what employees do and limiting what sites they can visit, they could do things that put you in legal jeopardies, like downloading illegal music and video files, visiting adult content websites, gaming, and gambling—all of these sites fall under HIGH RISK for viruses and phishing scams.

  • They DELETE everything. A common scenario: An employee is fired or quits because they are unhappy with how they are being treated. Before they leave, however, they permanently delete ALL of their e-mails and any critical files they can get their hands on. If you don’t have that data backed up, you lose it ALL. Even if you sue them and win, the legal costs and time wasted on the lawsuit and on recovering the data, not to mention the aggravation of dealing with it all, are all greater costs than what you might collect in damages if you win the lawsuit.

Do you really think this CANNOT happen to you?

Think again.

Ultimately, no business owner or leader can expect cybersecurity to be easy—there are lots of moving parts. You have to be smart and proactive in protecting your organization. That’s where hiring the expertise of a reputable Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) comes in.

At The TNS Group, we are constantly working to improve our cybersecurity strategies by combining the latest software-based controls with effective employee education and continuous monitoring to protect the health and security of your network infrastructure.

If you are looking for an IT Services partner that will do everything in their power to protect you, download this Executive guide today at NO COST. We want to help business owners and leaders like you avoid the headache and losses of choosing the wrong IT firm by asking the right questions and picking up on the red flags early. You will also get access to a FREE and confidential cybersecurity risk assessment.

Contact The TNS Group today to speak with our team and learn more about cybersecurity. If you are currently a TNS partner, please reach out to your friendly Account Manager so we can assist with any concerns you may have to address any gaps in your IT security.

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Categories: Information Technology Services, Managed Service Provider, MSP Blogs