Cybersecurity Isn’t a Seasonal Event: Why Ignoring It Could Cost You (And Your Boss) Big Time!
It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Are you ready?
This is a great time to get conversations going around cybersecurity, but if your organization has been holding off on this topic until now, there’s a problem. Sending out a few emails or having a webinar here or there to remind employees to “be careful online” once a year is incredibly dangerous.
Cybercriminals Don’t Wait for October
Many organizations feel that a yearly focus on cybersecurity is enough but consider this: cybercriminals are working around the clock every day of the year. They’re evolving their tactics, finding new vulnerabilities, and launching attacks every single day. In fact, there’s a ransomware attack every 39 seconds. If you’re only training your employees or testing your defenses in October, you’re falling behind.
Hackers don’t care about your calendar, and they’re not waiting for October to test your defenses. If you’re serious about protecting your organization, you need to be thinking about cybersecurity all year long.
Building a Culture of Security
Cybersecurity needs to be an integrated part of an organization’s business strategy. Why? Because when hackers hit, they hit hard. Attacks disrupt productivity, cost time and money, damage reputations, and often land the organization and its leadership team in court.
That’s why a culture of security is vital. This means that cybersecurity must be part of daily operations, not something relegated to a few training sessions in October. A proactive security culture includes regular training, continuous updates on evolving threats, and routine vulnerability assessments.
Organizations that invest in year-round cybersecurity education are less likely to fall victim to cyberattacks. Continuous awareness helps keep employees vigilant and prepared for new types of threats, rather than reacting after the fact. Leadership plays a key role in this process. When executives promote cybersecurity as a core business priority—not just something checked off during Cybersecurity Awareness Month—it trickles down throughout the organization, ensuring that every employee understands their role in protecting the company.
If You Haven’t Been Breached Act Now
If your organization hasn’t been hit by a breach yet, congratulations—but don’t get too comfortable. The worst thing you can do is assume that because it hasn’t happened, it won’t. The reality is, the longer you go without a breach, the more likely you are to think you’re safe—and the more likely you are to let your guard down. Data shows that 43% of cyberattacks target small and mid-sized businesses, many of which lack the resources to recover after a major incident.
Waiting until disaster strikes to take cybersecurity seriously is like waiting until your house is on fire to buy smoke alarms. By then, the damage is already done, and no amount of “I told you so” from your IT team will undo the chaos.
Your Boss Doesn’t Care (Yet)
In organizations that haven’t been breached, cybersecurity often feels like a low priority. Leadership might approve a few initiatives here and there, but it’s not exactly top of mind. It’s hard to get people to care about something that feels distant or abstract. But once a breach hits? Suddenly, everyone cares—and that’s the problem.
It’s easy to dismiss cybersecurity concerns as fearmongering until it’s your company in the headlines for a massive data breach. But by then, the financial losses, reputational hits, and customer fallout are all things that could’ve been prevented with a proactive approach to security.
If You’ve Been Breached: Don’t Lose Momentum
If your organization has been hit by a cyberattack, cybersecurity is no longer just a theoretical problem. You’ve felt the pain—whether it’s the financial hit, the scramble to recover data, or the fallout with customers who suddenly don’t trust you anymore.
Unfortunately, you're not alone.
In 2023, global cybercrime costs are expected to reach $8 trillion, and experts predict that number will grow to $10.5 trillion by 2025. Every day feels like Cybersecurity Awareness Month because you’re constantly reminded of the risks and the damage that come from not being prepared.
So, what’s changed? For starters, your boss is likely paying a lot more attention now. Suddenly, budgets are opening up for new security tools, employees are taking phishing tests seriously, and the idea of continuous security training doesn’t seem like overkill. But these are all things that should’ve been happening before the breach. If they had been, you might have avoided the crisis altogether.
Incident Response as an Active Mindset
One of the biggest lessons companies learn post-breach is that responding to incidents isn’t just a theoretical exercise. It’s not about having a plan tucked away in some file drawer. It’s about actively rehearsing that plan, running through scenarios, and making sure everyone knows exactly what to do when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, 54% of organizations worldwide have experienced one or more cyberattacks that compromised their data in the past year alone. Incident response needs to become part of your everyday operations. If it isn’t, you’re setting yourself up for another disaster.
Think of it like a fire drill. If your team doesn’t practice regularly, how can you expect them to act quickly and efficiently in the event of an actual fire? After a breach, companies start running through these cyber “fire drills” constantly, tweaking their responses, identifying gaps, and training employees to react in real time.
Leadership Suddenly Cares
Once you’ve been breached, it’s not hard to get leadership on board with cybersecurity initiatives. The financial and reputational damage of a breach tends to be a wake-up call. Executives who once hesitated to invest in security tools are now asking for regular updates, signing off on budget increases, and showing up at security briefings. But here’s the thing: they should have been doing this all along.
It shouldn’t take a breach to get leadership to care. Cybersecurity should be seen as a fundamental business priority, not a reactive, post-disaster fix. When leadership prioritizes security year-round, it trickles down to the rest of the organization. Employees understand that this isn’t just about checking boxes during Cybersecurity Awareness Month—it’s about protecting the company, its customers, and its future.
Cybersecurity is an Everyday Commitment
Whether your organization has been breached or not, one thing is clear: cybersecurity isn’t a once-a-year event. It’s something that needs to be part of your organization’s DNA, woven into every decision, every process, and every interaction.
For those who’ve been breached, the lesson is obvious: don’t let it happen again. For those who haven’t, the challenge is to get serious about security before disaster strikes. Either way, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is just the starting point—not the finish line.