It’s important to be more aware of the dangers that come from cyber security as a modern business but even more so for those who have their own personal brand that they’re trying to built in popularity on the internet.
You’ve not always got the big money that some corporate companies have to protect themselves from the dangers of cybercrime. But with enough knowledge, the right tools and a proactive attitude to cybersecurity, you’ll do a lot better in helping improving your cybersecurity defenses.
Here are some of the hidden costs of making cybersecurity mistakes when you have ownership of a personal brand.
Erosion of digital trust
For many personal brands, trust is something that’s integral to success. A security incident of any volume can break that trust that you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
The real issue is that the loss of trust can take an average of a year to restore, perhaps even longer depending on the significance of the breach or security event.
There’s a loss of credibility and for some, irreversible reputation damage that ruins the business from ever being able to bounce back to where it was.
Long-term financial and revenue decline
There are hidden costs that come from a cybersecurity mistake. A damaged reputation as menrtioned above can lead to lower engagement, a decline in sales and potential for loss in sponsorships too with companies not want to be associated with the fallout that’s occurred.
There’s a domino effect that happens on partnerships you might have already, with some refusing to work with you again due to the poor security shown.
Irretrieveable content and intellectual property
For many digital creators, content is their business and so when it comes to security breaches, it can result in the loss of content and assets.
For example, some digital creators have lost their accounts through deletion. That means permanent loss of years of work and intellectual property.
An account that’s also compromised means downtime where the creator cannot post content and that directly results in lost income and a loss in audience.
Pyschological and emotional toll
The personal and emotional toll that takes hold when you’ve been subject to an attack is something that’s often forgotten about.
That anxiety and fear often leads to higher levels of stress and anger, as well as burnouts due to needing to handle the fallout as best as possible.
Increased personal liability and digital tail
A breach is one that can have a long-term effect on the busines through both legal and personal consequences.
There may be legal consequences if you’ve collected user data and it’s been stolen. These can also come in the form of fines.
Dealing with identity theft and blackmail is also common when these attacks take place.
The searchable scandal
Unlike internal breaches, a public figure breach is public and so news of the incident often travels fast and remains online forever.
For any personal brands concerned about their cyber security, the best defense is a proactive one.