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Cyber Attacks And Vulnerability https://pixabay.com/photo-3073180/

The recently concluded Wall Street Journal CIO Network’s annual meeting reviewed the state of international digital business in relation to mergers and acquisitions. A senior security executive revealed that cybersecurity is increasingly becoming a factor in the decision-making processes toward business transactions.

Weak cybersecurity kills deals

Cyber attacks have cost Australian businesses a whopping US$11.7 million in 2017. From the theft of money to damaged reputations, to loss of data to loss of customers, businesses have a lot to suffer from cyber attacks. According to market pundits, businesses should also be careful about security measures being taken by companies they are dealing with.

In other words, weak cybersecurity kills deals. Meanwhile, a security firm has recently confirmed that robots or humanoid assistants are also vulnerable to ransomware attackers, alerting businesses to further heighten their network security.

Still a real threat: Data breaches, account takeovers

Experts agree that data breaches and account takeover attacks will remain a threat to global businesses. For their part, business developers and decision-makers are not likely to complete an acquisition if there are serious problems in data management and network security.

Data management is also a major concern for small businesses all over Australia. A new rule could doom a small shop to bankruptcy if business owners fail to report a network data breach.

Australian Information Commissioner: 'Notify individuals ­affected in case of data breaches'

Businesses that collect customer information with an annual turnover of over $3 million must inform customers in the event of a data breach. A study about the implications of this new rule reveals about 124,000 businesses are not ready to comply.

"(The shops) might actually have their entire customer database on a simple PC,” Sorin Toma, Xpotentia managing director and University of NSW’s principal adviser on cyber security, told The Australian.

Toma further stated that smaller businesses are not likely to notice when a breach happens. The Xpotentia study also cites a 2017 Telstra survey, which shows that 59 percent of Australian companies are attacked by data hackers on a monthly basis.