Pawn Shop Cyber Security

The most vulnerable area for the Industry today far exceed just the Physical Assets of the Operations!!

The Number ONE Threat Today to your business IS:

Cyber Security

Today, it is NO longer a question of IF we will be attacked, it’s when, also it is not a question of are we safe, because we are never safe, it’s a question of how safe are we?

PCG is PROUD to announce we have a created a relationship with one of the most comprehensive Cyber Security Firms operating in the world today.

These are hosted solutions that monitor and protect potential threats of any devices with Internet connectivity, all for one very affordable monthly price.

Many of us are focused on our businesses as we should be, and are not focused on the threat of cyber-attacks. Here are some interesting stats from the US & UK Govt, Poneman 2016:

SMB’s – Too small or unimportant to evade a cyber-attack?

• 55% experienced a cyber attack in the last 12 months
• 91% suffered a data-breach
• 49% of attacks are phishing
• 48% of breaches are caused by employees, contractor, or a third-party negligence
• 33% of companies could not determine the root causes

Average Costs

• $897K Lost due to damage or theft of IT assets
• $955K Lost to business disruption
• 60% of these businesses fail within 3-6 months of a data-breach

Why are small businesses being targeted?

Primarily – THEY ARE SOFT TARGETS

• Primarily Lack of Budget
  • Lack of specialists or cyber security personnel
  • Staff Training
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Purchase expensive security tools
• Can be used as a vehicle
  • Launch attacks on other businesses
  • Back doors into larger corporations
• Valuable Data & Intellectual Property
  • Customer Records = PII plus other financial information
  • Electronic Records rising in Price
• Information contained in Niche Products for:
  • Social Security Numbers and DOB for fake identities
  • Social Security Numbers and addresses to file fraudulent tax returns
  • Financial Information for Mandate Fraud
• Small Businesses Pay!
  • Worried about loss of reputation
  • Can’t afford the disruption to their businesses
  • Don’t report the attacks
  • Often don’t have the skills to find the breach(es)

Who and How are these attacks coming from?

• Actors
  • Organized Crime
  • Individuals
  • Hacktivist
  • State Sponsored
• Type of Attacks
  • Socially Engineered Malware
  • Password Phishing Attacks
  • Social Media Threats
  • Advanced Persistent Threats

Hidden Costs of Cyber Attacks

The TIP of the Iceberg indicates the average Ransomware Costs range from $21 dollars to $700 and an average recovery time up to 3 days once breach has happened. These costs do not reflect down time, billable hours for recovery efforts, loss of business, legal fees, fines, and more.

For our Groups that outsource their IT and think it is THEIR responsibility

• Firewalls, virus scanning, network monitoring
  • Connectivity, break and fix NOT focused on Cyber Security
• Employees and Third-Party Contractors
  • Not Managed by your outsourced IT
  • 49% of attacks are PHISHING attacks
  • 48% of the breaches are caused by employees, contractors, or third-party negligence
• IT is outsourced, BUT NOT your reputation or your fiduciary responsibilities
  • Is your outsourced IT aware of your information risk policy, regulatory requirements and compliant?
  • Is your outsource cyber secure?
  • Who is responsible for what, when a breach occurs?

With all this activity going on, what is the WAY forward?

• The Recommendation
  • Manage risk from the inside
  • Dynamic Consistent process
  • Continual Staff Training
  • Adopt a recognized standard
• The Reality
  • Lack of Time
    • Investigate Standards
    • Writing Policies
  • Lack of Budget
    • Consultants
    • Tools

PCG is proud to announce that we have created a solution based relationship with one of the worlds premier cyber security companies and are exclusively offering a host of services to the Pawn Industry.

The Solution Parameters are Quick, Easy, and Affordable

• Virtual Online Security Officer (VOSO)

  • Tells you what you should be doing and when, to protect your online equipment and stored data
• Translates Government and CIS standards into 10 easy to follow steps
  • Avoids 80% of cyber attacks
  • Significantly contributes to standards compliance and certification
• Policies, training videos and best practice advice
  • Specifically, for small to medium businesses
• Dashboard makes you continually aware of your security status
  • Reports against US governments and CIS CSC cybersecurity best practice
• PCG’s – CySure™ Services – Security in a Box
  • 88% of required actions can be completed within 24-48 hours by VOSO and CySure’s™ automated/semi-automated services with continual monitoring.
• Cyber insurance to supplement your security strategy.
  • Offsets crippling forensic and remediation costs in the event of a cyber breach
  • PCG offers solutions for supplemental needs

Call to Action and Quick Wins

• Conduct a risk assessment
  • Identify your most critical assets, risks and safeguards
• Create an incident response plan
• Adopt a cyber-security standard – structured approach
• Update and strengthen passwords
• Run regular vulnerability scans and real-time virus scanning
  • Patch and update your software – NOW!
• Issue policies and implement procedures
• Educate your staff regularly
• Review your cyber-security posture regularly

PCG IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE OFFERING THE HIGHEST-LEVEL OF 24/7 SECURITY MONITORING AND PROTECTION SOLUTIONS FOR ALL OF YOUR ALL DEVICES FOR A VERY AFFORDABLE FEE – FEEL FREE TO CONTACT PCG DIRECTLY FOR INFORMATION!!

Jerry Whitehead

Pawnshopconsultinggroup@gmail.com

954-540-3697

www.pawnshopconsultinggroup.com

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