The importance of security in marketing strategies

 Cybersecurity has become a priority for all companies, which are continuously exposed to cyber attacks.

In most companies, Marketing is considered the weak point of Cyber Protection especially in the management of data flow, both because of the enormous amount of information that is produced daily, and for possible underestimations in their administration.

Innovation and digitalization of business processes and information systems has allowed many organizations to be more competitive but this has meant, at the same time, exposing their data to greater risks.

How can companies integrate cyber protection with marketing?

In the current scenario, the importance of cyber protection in marketing is increasingly evident, just think that a single cyber-attack can cause considerable economic damage for companies and consumers as well as serious damage to the company image.

According to ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cyber Protection, in 2021 only 66 days were observed at zero risk, i.e., without cyber crime.

The Italian association for computer security, in the first half of 2022 detected a 308.8% increase in hacker attacks. Among the main victims are so-called multiple targets that occur against multiple targets instead of a specific target.

Marketing is often considered the weak link in cybersecurity.

It is absolutely necessary to reverse this vision and create a close link between Cyber Protection and Digital Marketing by implementing strategies aimed at preventing attacks and reacting promptly in the event of an incident.

Cyber Protection Culture

Given the amount of sensitive information to which marketers have access and the increasing use of new technologies for the management and sharing of this data, marketing is often the target of cyber-crime.

It is essential to start educating the people who work in this department about cybersecurity, with pathways that allow them to identify a potential attack and to use digital technologies with awareness.

The goal is to go from being an easy target for hackers to active and risk-aware users. Spreading the culture of computer security is essential to avoid huge economic and image losses that are difficult to recover

In this scenario, marketing professionals can become the first line of defense against Cyber risk and help change the perspective with which we approach these issues. It must come to understand that Cyber Protection plays a fundamental role that cannot be ignored.

Technologies that protect your data

Nowadays, all consumers find themselves continuously providing their data to an ever-increasing number of brands and services, just think of newsletters to receive discounts or coupons, apps to make purchases on online stores, loyalty cards and registration of individual profiles on many sites.

Most social networks, on which you spend a lot of time during the day, have access to various information, including searches made, personal interests, geolocation with places visited and access times.

In Italy, digital transactions are growing more and more every year and reached 400 billion at the end of 2022. All companies are now aware of this trend and must equip themselves with secure technologies to prevent cyber-attacks.

In addition to spreading the culture of cybersecurity, it is essential to use new technological tools that can minimize cyber risk.

Machine Learning and Deep Learning can be valuable allies in an increasingly digital and interconnected world. With this in mind, applications are being studied that exploit Computer Vision, Video Recognition and Voice Recognition to protect users from theft and attacks.

Cloning a payment card, being able to get hold of the numbers above or simple theft are relatively simple activities to carry out that create enormous inconvenience. In fact. Many transactions do not require any proof of identity of the cardholder.

On the contrary, approving digital payments by integrating voice or biometric recognition could really represent a unique and important breakthrough for consumer safety. Searching for solutions that allow a high Cyber Protection should be one of the most important objectives for all companies.

Creating a Cyber Data Intelligence strategy in the Marketing Intelligence field in which there is an integration between cultural education on IT security and the use of innovative technological tools can really help companies to have a performance also and above all in the field of Cyber Protection.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY GAETANO LO PRESTI – DIGITAL PHILOSOPHER