I attended the DMA (Distribution Management Association) event earlier this week, and I heard a compelling speaker from the Los Angeles office of the FBI talk about cybercrime. It is simply a massive industry. In 2015, internet fraud led to a loss of $14.6 million per month. Talk about a massive amount of cybercrime, just in Los Angeles vs. bank robberies nationally in 2014 at $2.4 million per month. Are you protecting your business from Ransomware and BEC (business email compromise)? If not, I now am armed with several horrifying statistics to pass along.

One tip to implement this week:

Every executive should be thinking about cyber crime. Is it worth saving a few dollars on a less expensive, inexperienced IT resource? Absolutely not! 71% of breaches occur in small businesses because they tend to be more vulnerable, and 60% of them close their doors within 6 months. Certainly these types of statistics should encourage you to be vigilant.

It isn’t just IT resources. A lot of cyber crime has to do with education and culture. If employees open emails that look harmless and don’t know what to look for or how to handle the situation, it can go from bad to worse in a hurry. One executive got in a heap of trouble when attacked by BEC because the culture was such that the CFO didn’t question blindly following what looked like an email from the CEO with instructions of where to wire funds. Start by learning about cyber crime. Find out what you should be looking for and make sure your employees understand how to handle these situations. Crooks will continue to go after these untapped funds and so we must be proactive and alert.

Looking for more ideas to keep your supply chain connected? Access more tips and resources on my blog. And keep connected by subscribing to my newsletter and email feed of “I’ve Been Thinking…”