Malware is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and hackers are using this new and improved malware to attack companies all over the world.

Most businesses believe that their (most likely outdated) firewall and antivirus products will protect their sensitive data, but the truth is that cybercriminals are more creative and more determined than ever to infiltrate existing security systems. Here are seven signs that your business needs to adopt an abuse platform that will prevent a potentially crippling data breach.

See also: The Rules of the Game When It Comes to Network Abuse

1. Cybercrime Is On The Rise

It’s estimated that the global cost of cybercrime will hit $2 trillion by 2019. That’s three times as much as was spent in 2015, and that’s only the cybercrime that’s detected. In the U.S. alone, the average cost to an organization that experienced a data breach was $7 million per incident.

An abuse platform can help you pinpoint weak points in your security system, enabling fast detection of unknown security threats. Whether it’s offering real-time spam notifications or a network evaluation, an abuse platform will give your security team the support they need.

2. Your Network Security Isn’t As Strong As You Think

A whopping 87% of businesses spend more money on their firewalls than any other security measure. Does this guarantee that their data is safe? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. With a tool like a SQL injection or SQLi, hackers can slip in, steal information from just about anywhere, and sneak out again before you realize anything’s missing.

The good news? SQL injections are easy to defeat. The bad news? So many IT departments are understaffed or staffed with people who aren’t able to perform the job that these simple attacks aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In order to properly deal with this insidious form of abuse, you need an abuse platform that will give you the data solutions to target the threat.

3. The Abuse Desk Reports Are Disorganized

If your abuse desk is like most, there’s never sufficient staff to sort the incoming abuse reports. This results in chaos— the urgent reports are mingled among the less important issues, causing the team to potentially miss the window in which a problem could be resolved before it gets out of hand.

Implementing an abuse platform will automate your systems, allowing your team to assess the incoming abuse reports quickly and efficiently. With a platform that collects and displays the data in real-time, your security team will have an up-to-the-minute status of each report that is submitted, and the raw data will be transformed into actionable data that will enable the team to detect a variety of abuse events faster than ever.

See also: Network Intrusion: The Importance of Prioritizing Your Network Abuse Categories 

4. Spam Abuse Is Increasing

In March 2016, email antivirus detections climbed to nearly 23 million— four times the average for the same time period the year before. Spam isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and it’s moving beyond a simple inconvenience. Hackers used spam as a vehicle for a Gmail phishing spam that victimized millions of users in early 2017. Millions of passwords were stolen, and as the majority of people reuse their passwords, the cybercriminals made away with very valuable information.

Unfortunately, all of this excess spam is costing service providers big. They’re forced to buy bandwidth based on projected usage, and when unsolicited emails eat up the majority of the bandwidth, the service providers are forced to choose between eating the cost or passing it on to their consumers. Dealing with spam is also a drain on your abuse team’s time, particularly if they’re manually sorting emails. An abuse platform will help them identify the source of the spam and shut it down, saving time and money.

5. Your Customers Want An Abuse Platform

As cybercrime climbs, customers feel more comfortable working with a service provider that has a secure abuse platform in place. Not only is their data more secure, but their bandwidth isn’t being slowed down by a barrage of attacks. With an abuse platform, they can conduct business safely and quickly.

When you acquiesce to your customers’ request for an abuse platform, it shows that you’re interested in keeping their sensitive information safe and that you’re willing to listen to their concerns. The fact that implementing an abuse platform benefits your organization as much as it benefits your customers is simply a bonus.

6. The Law Can’t Always Protect Your Business From Cybercriminals

Unfortunately, writing new laws can’t be accomplished as quickly as cybercriminals are creating new and more dangerous malware. While the U.S. government recognizes that stiffer cybersecurity laws are needed, it’s not as easy to put those laws into effect.

For one, it’s far too easy for hackers to hid behind a shield of anonymity. Also, it’s challenging to come up with sufficient digital evidence to prosecute cybercrime. Determining the jurisdiction is another problem that law enforcement agencies face when they attempt to prosecute cybercriminals. Until the law has been updated, the safest defense is a spirited offense— in other words, implement an abuse platform to help you avoid the threat of cybercrime altogether.

7. Bots Outnumber Humans On The Internet

At the end of 2016, the number of bots generating web traffic was higher than the number of humans active online for the first time since 2012. 52% of web traffic is generated by bots, and 29% of those bots are engaging in the malevolent activity. In fact, over the last five years, every third visitor to a website is an attack bot.

How do you prevent a (seemingly inevitable) botnet attack? Engage an abuse platform that will help you search your reports for specific triggers and conduct behavioral analyses to determine the timing of the attacks. Without automating your system, it’s unlikely that your team will be able to pinpoint the infection before it’s overtaken your system.

See also: How to Effectively Parse and Analyze Network Security Abuse Data

Protecting networks from cybercrime is essential for businesses today. If your business is affected by any of the signs listed above, it’s time to adopt a comprehensive abuse platform.

AbuseHQ from Abusix integrates into existing infrastructures to provide the capabilities necessary to reduce abuse and support tickets, allowing teams to spend less time on abuse issues.

To find out more about how AbuseHQ can help abuse desks perform at their optimum, talk to our team.