Not all offshore staffing providers are the same, particularly in how they take cybersecurity matters seriously. 

As more businesses are solving their talent shortage through building a global team, how your data is kept safe matters. 

In a 2022 report released by IBM Security X-Force, ransomware has been the top cybersecurity attack type that occurred in the past three years, recording 21% in 2021.  

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is essentially a type of malicious software that restricts users from accessing their computers and other digital devices.   

Attackers usually threaten victims that their data will permanently be lost or leaked to the public if they don’t pay a ransom that may amount to millions of dollars.  

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the cost of ransomware damages is predicted to reach US$265 billion annually by 2031 with new attacks occurring every two seconds. 

Here’s a list of how a ransomware attack can impact your business: 

• Financial loss – If the ransomware gains access to your critical data, you will be forced to shut down your operations for days, or even weeks as you try to figure out how to resolve this situation 

• Damaged reputation – When the news of a ransomware attack gets out in public, it can affect your reputation as a company, resulting in hardship in retaining clients or attracting customers/partnerships 
• Fines – When sensitive customer data is leaked, the company may be forced to pay regulatory fines, creating a ripple effect and it all comes down to our first point—financial loss  

One of the biggest concerns about expanding one’s team beyond the local area is how does one ensures data security, especially if expanding into another country. 

Nowadays, building an offshore team is a must for businesses to survive, and in most cases, to thrive and increase market shares. 

But there is a way to grow one’s global team with the peace of mind that your security will be always kept safe, and below are tips you need to consider: 

1. Choose the Right Offshore Team Provider  

Working with an offshore team means having your data shared across the world. Unfortunately, not all offshoring companies are aware or credible enough to ensure that your data will be safeguarded from vulnerabilities that could lead to a cyber-attack.  

There’s a lot of risk associated with it, but businesses tend to overlook these risks as they focus more on the resources they could get from their offshore providers.  

Cybersecurity should be front and center when starting a conversation. Here are some of the questions you can ask your offshore provider:  

• What measures and approach do you use to keep your equipment, data, and employees safe from cyberattacks? 
• What response plan do you have in place in the event of an attack? 
• How knowledgeable is your organization when it comes to addressing such issues?

Or simply ask if they are ISO 27001 certified and could easily present their security documents. As you may know, ISO 27001 is an international standard on how data is stored, managed, and disposed of. 

2. Experience in handling cyber-attacks 

Even if ransomware is fairly new, cyber-attacks have been around for quite some time now. Choosing an offshore provider with extensive familiarity with the ICT best practices and upcoming trends is also crucial.  

Even with all the tools out there for detecting a cyber-attack, how one deals with it and understanding its root cause is just as important, and the latter is usually a result of experience. 

Quick Tips

While having an offshore provider who is well-aware and practices international data privacy standards is great, it is also advisable to work in tandem with them with the following items: 

3. Make sure your operating systems are updated 

Perform regular updates of your software and hardware and make sure you use the latest security patches. You can also increase your security by installing firewalls and antivirus programs. 

4. Maintain open communication with your staff 

Help your team understand the threats of cyber-attacks by holding regular security training for them. This will teach them how to recognize threats and establish effective cyber practices to avoid being targeted by cyber criminals.  

5. Be proactive with your security efforts 

You need to ramp up your security efforts as soon as possible to avoid falling victim to such attacks. If you’re looking to maximize efficiencies of an offshore talent, finding the right provider that can proactively address these issues is key.  

What Sets TGT Apart

With 30+ years tenure in the ICT industry, we put important focus on keeping our frameworks secured to protect sensitive data of customers and employees  

This is affirmed by our ISO 27001 certification, which means that: 

• Our physical and IT infrastructure is highly protected. 
• We do continuous testing and monitoring to ensure that all our safeguards are working and relevant. 
• We are committed to making sure our processes are up to date to keep critical data safe. 

If you want more information about our processes and solutions, we’re more than happy to discuss them with you. Reach out to us today and let’s talk about it.