Austin Texas Businesses Face Growing Cybersecurity Concerns

Austin, Texas is undeniably one of the world’s largest tech hubs. Some of the largest tech companies in the world have installed themselves in Austin thanks to a large number of factors. For instance, the cost of living tends to be much more reasonable compared to other tech-based cities, the lack of state income taxes attracts business, and the generally nice year-round weather and recreational scene attract great people who want to accomplish great things. We love it here, from the growth opportunities, the talent pool, right down to the Keep Austin Weird bumper stickers.

But Austin businesses do face some additional challenges that come with being some of the brightest, most forward-thinking organizations out there.

Cybercriminals Target Austin-Based Organizations and Businesses

A business full of modern technology is a business full of potential exploits, vulnerabilities, and back doors. This is especially true when your staff is busy and nobody is really paying close attention to security updates, patches, Windows updates, whether or not your backup is working properly, virus definitions, and other security tools.

Cybercriminals realize this. A mom and pop bookstore with a single computer and a POS system isn’t going to be as attractive of a target compared to a start up with a dozen or more workstations, multiple servers, a physical security system, and a CRM that’s helping the staff keep up with external communication.

Bear in mind, it’s not the size of the organization that makes a difference. The key element that puts a real target on your back is whether or not you have something worthwhile to steal, or if disrupting the regular course of business might be worth a decent amount of money to you. Of course, when we put it that way, that means pretty much any organization or business falls under this umbrella, which isn’t really that far from reality.

No organization is more or less likely to be attacked based on its size, but a business does see their risk of cyberattack go up as their network becomes more complex. Each piece of hardware and each application you add to your network is a new entrypoint that can be exploited, and the more complex things get, the more challenging it is to protect things internally.

There’s Been So Much Growth in Austin That There’s a Talent Shortage

In a lot of ways, this is one of those good problems to have. We love seeing smart people get together with an idea or common goal, and construct a quickly growing business around it. With a massive engaged workforce and an above-average talent pool, businesses in Austin have been able to see plenty of growth.

Unfortunately, very specific types of workers are in extremely high demand but remain pretty rare, even in America’s next Silicon Valley. One of the biggest talent shortages right now is in the IT security industry. It’s very difficult for a smaller organization to attract a candidate who has the specialized education and skill set when there is such a huge demand for them.

That being said, hiring a full-time (or part-time) IT or cybersecurity person isn’t really the most effective option for any business, no matter where in the country they are. Most in-house IT people either go underutilized, or they get burdened with day-to-day IT support and can’t seem to find time to focus on the more critical, but less noisy stuff.

We’re Entering a Cybersecurity Epidemic

With the advent of artificial intelligence, cybercriminals have a whole new set of tools to use to bolster their efforts. Simple, public AI tools can help scammers construct more convincing phishing attacks. Specialized tools can help cybercriminals automate and vastly scale attacks. AI can be used for cracking passwords, finding vulnerabilities in common software, and allowing a scammer to confuse victims by impersonation.

Things were already bad enough with ransomware—the next few years are likely going to show us just how diabolical and clever cybercriminals truly are.

It’s critical that your organization does everything it can to protect itself, your employees, and your customers. Failing to do so can be devastating, cost an incredible amount of time and money, and damage your reputation.

Austin Businesses Don’t Need to Navigate The World of Cybersecurity Alone

Capstone Works has been helping organizations of all sizes throughout Austin gain control over their technology. Our team of experienced IT professionals can work with your business whether you currently have an IT person on staff or not. We can keep your technology properly monitored and protected so you can focus on running your business, and we’re able to implement modern, enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions to protect your business from today’s ever-growing threats.

Cybersecurity is something that every single business needs to adopt, and with Capstone Works, it’s easier than ever to give everyone in your organization the peace of mind and ability to work effectively. Give us a call at (512) 343-8891 to get started.