Digital tools have become a staple for marketers' daily operations and increased efficiency. These tools generate valuable digital assets, such as customer data and ad campaign metrics, that are crucial for creating impactful marketing efforts.
Unfortunately, this same valuable information is highly sought after by cybercriminals. Therefore, digital tools should be viewed not only as efficiency enhancers, but also as potential entry points through which cybercriminals may attempt to access your sensitive data.
So, how severe are the repercussions for marketers (and their clients) who neglect proper cybersecurity measures when working with digital tools? This article will explain these consequences and offer two straightforward ways marketers can reduce such risks.
You're already familiar with the type of data you're handling on a daily basis as a marketer. However, it's sometimes easy to dismiss how vulnerable these digital assets can be and what other people can do with access to them if they fall into the wrong hands.
A hacker might examine the budget information in the campaign data to gauge possible monetary gains from further breaches. Corporate espionage is another factor and is a real possibility. A competitor-sponsored hacker might use this data for replication or running counter campaigns.
Identity theft, selling data on the dark web, or a way to improve phishing scams – these are all the things a malicious actor can use this type of data for. It's one of the most important types of assets to protect.
Threat actors may target marketing account credentials to exploit their control over ad campaigns and platforms. With access to these accounts, they can run fraudulent ads to promote malicious websites, redirect traffic to their own resources, or waste the victim's advertising budget.
We've explored why cybercriminals are drawn to your digital tools and the assets they collect. Now, let's take a closer look at the broader impact of successful cyberattacks on marketers.
If the monetary losses brought about by compromised ad accounts are bad enough, leaked data or data breaches have legal ramifications that can result in – yes, you guessed it – more financial loss from legal fines.
The most devastating part is broken trust and damaged reputation among your customers. When cybersecurity incidents occur, they also often generate negative PR that can severely harm your business. Recovering from this reputational loss calls for extra time and deliberate effort. Therefore, protecting your marketing team's digital tools is the first step to avoid all this.
It's a good thing the solution to prevent data theft or leaks is quite straightforward. Here are simple countermeasures that can significantly reduce the likelihood of experiencing the negative outcomes we mentioned.
Sometimes, marketers have to work remotely or on the go, and they might connect to an unsecured network. Having a VPN running in the background of their online activities ensures a layer of protection for their online activities. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to intercept the data your marketing team is working with.
Furthermore, using a VPN during marketing research prevents third parties from harvesting your data, ensuring your proprietary strategies remain protected. While cyber threats may not be omnipresent, a VPN ensures you're protected should an attack occur.
If you don't want to commit to buying a long-term VPN subscription, research the best free VPNs in the market to evaluate their security features and impact on loading speeds. This way, you'll see whether your marketing team finds the tool effective before committing to one VPN for long.
Your marketing team is likely using several marketing platforms and tools that require multiple account signups. The worst thing your team could do is reuse the same simple passwords for each of them. Sure, they're easy to remember, but hackers will also find it easy to hijack all of them.
Installing a Windows or Mac password manager comes in handy when you need to generate strong, unique passwords for all your marketing-related accounts. The best part? They are easy to integrate into team workflows and have features like shared vaults, role-based permissions, and centralized admin controls. For added security, implementing Privileged Access Management helps ensure that only authorized team members can access sensitive marketing systems and data.
Neglecting cybersecurity puts your marketing operations at risk. Don't let your strategies go from clicks to chaos. Simple solutions like VPNs and password managers can help protect your assets and keep your marketing efforts running smoothly. Invest in cybersecurity and turn risks into ROI!