One of my favorite questions to ask all Truck Parts & Service Distributor of the Year and Successful Dealer Award finalists is: What is the biggest challenge facing your business and how are you working to solve it?
I love this question for a number of reasons. It requires introspection from the responder; it lends itself to a complex answer; it elicits a broad list of industry challenges; and it shows that no two aftermarket or dealer operations are the same. Even in cases where multiple responders give the same issue — such as employee recruitment and retention — as their top challenge, everyone seems to be using a different strategy to deal with it.
I think that’s great. I freely admit I’m a strong believer in best practices and write about them in this magazine a lot; but, best practices are not required practices. Every aftermarket and dealer business is different and how business leaders choose to organize and address their challenges should be defined by their operation and their operation alone. It is with this in mind that I must state I would never claim to know more about your businesses than you do, but I would like to proffer a suggestion: Please add cybersecurity to your business challenge to-do list.
Once it’s on your list, how you manage it is up to you. I only want to make sure everyone is aware of how important cybersecurity is for businesses today.
If you read Bill’s feature on cybersecurity in our September issue — and I hope you did, because it was fantastic — you should understand how vulnerable your business may be. If you didn’t, here’s a quick recap: Small businesses are huge targets for hackers and cyberattacks.
When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s easy to talk yourself out of feeling vulnerable. It’s easy to tell yourself hackers would prefer to infiltrate large corporations and governments, stealing secrets and private information that can be ransomed for millions of dollars.
At least, that’s what movies have taught us. In reality, it is precisely because your business is not a global corporation that hackers want to come after you, says Erik Nachbahr, president at Helion Trucking Technologies.
You’re an easy target, he says.
During a presentation at last month’s National Trailer Dealers Association Convention, Nachbahr told attendees hackers prey on small businesses us-ing older, antiquated Internet security systems that can be defeated easily.
These hackers don’t want your data for any business reason — they’re not looking to steal your customer information to build their own distribution business down the block — they want to steal it so they can withhold it from you.
“But it’s my data. I already have it,” you’re thinking. Indeed, you do. Today.
That’s not always the case once you’ve been hacked. Nachbahr says one common small-business cyberattack is where hackers access a company’s computer system and lock out the business, holding its own data hostage and demanding a ransom from the business for the safe return of its information. Another equally damaging scheme involves hackers accessing a company’s financial records, discovering transactional data and then posing as a reputable executive, supplier or customer and requesting payment for duplicated or fictitious invoices.
Nachbahr says in both instances the small business is likely unaware of the security breach until the hack reaches its final stages.
I find that absolutely terrifying. He’s saying hackers slip into your business at any time and wait for the perfect moment to steal your data, money or both.
The good news is cybersecurity is big business; there are hundreds of solutions available to reduce your cyber vulnerability.
So, please, do me a favor and add this to your to-do list. Don’t turn my favorite question into a cautionary tale.
