As a business owner, do you know exactly how much business you are conducting online? Today, most business’s exist solely on the Internet: with sales, communication, and banking all happening simultaneously online. Even brick and mortar businesses operate on some level of the internet, either with online storefronts or online booking and appointment making. But if you don’t back up your computer systems, you are at risk for potential attacks that could ruin your business. These 5 threats facing your business could break your bottom line if you don’t backup your computer. Find out how these threats can happen and how backing up your computer will protect you and your business.

Malicious Code

Malicious code, malware, spyware, and viruses are threatening your computer each and every time you connect to the Internet. Firewalls, anti-virus, and super secure wireless networks do what they can to stop unwanted intrusions, but hackers are outsmarting them every day. Small Business Trends states that hackers cost businesses almost $70,000 with each cyberattack. Backing up your computer data is the only way to save yourself the headache and the money it would take to get back any – if at all – of the data that fell victim to malicious code. With the ever-changing landscape of technology, you can’t always guarantee that your security measures will stay as up-to-date as the hackers, but you can protect yourself by backing up your computer.

Identity Theft

Sometimes the malicious code created by hackers is meant to steal important information, including credit cards, bank accounts, and social security numbers. If you store the data of all of your customers on your computer, you are at risk for identity theft. Even if you store only email addresses and phone numbers, hackers can use this information to get what they want from customers all across the globe. Protect yourself and your customers by backing up your computer data to the Cloud. The security built into the Cloud will double the strength of your existing security measures, and your customers will feel safe when they leave their information with you.

Data Loss

Beyond viruses and hackers, your data is still at risk. User error, faulty hard drives, the possibility of one of your coworkers or employees leaving the laptop at the airport? Every day mistakes can lead to data loss, but if you back up your computer, these slip ups will not cause as nearly as much stress as they could. You cannot predict when a computer is going to crash or when an employee is going to leave important information behind right before the big presentation. But when you’ve backed up your computer, you can easily access the information from a remote location. Anywhere with an internet connection will do, and you can rest easy knowing that data loss is a thing of the past.

Repeated Loss

The same virus can attack your computer system multiple times, even after you’ve ordered the clean out and the quarantine. The cracks in the code caused by the initial virus attack can leave openings for it to return. Unfortunately, viruses also work as a team, and after one attack they can leave the back door open for new and evolving viruses to come in and finish the job. Hackers will often communicate together in order to work out how a new virus can take advantage of the damage an older virus caused to a system, and with openings like this, your data is at risk for repeated loss. This is why a consistent backup to a secure server like the Cloud will protect your business even after the hackers decide to try again. What to do if you have already been hacked.

Natural Disasters

Even if your business operates on the internet, you cannot protect it from Mother Nature. Severe storms can wipe out power lines and servers, which can knock your business offline for days or even weeks. Flooding can destroy computers, office space, and paper copies of important information. Insurance will cover most of the damage caused by natural disasters, but it cannot bring your data back if it’s lost. Backing up your computer to a secure server will give you off-site protection that will save your data even if its on-site location is destroyed.

You may have a handful of jump drives, or you may have an external hard drive, but when it comes to backing up your computer, you may need more space and easy access, especially with these threats. Backing up your computer to the Cloud will protect you from malware, viruses, and data loss, and still give you the access you need to reach important files, photographs, or tax information as needed. Protect yourself and your business by backing up your computer today.