A culture of cybersecurity is essential in today’s organizations to help ensure that they are able to successfully fend off cyberattacks.

This is according to Lindsay Goodspeed, communications specialist at the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

Writing in a company blog, Goodspeed explained that prioritizing security is essential for all types of enterprises, big or small.

Increasingly, everyone is a target, meaning if you don’t believe or invest in a culture of cybersecurity, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to all sorts of threats.

“If your organization doesn’t have security baked into its DNA, it’s not a matter of if you’ll get hacked, but when."

“If your organization doesn’t have security baked into its DNA, it’s not a matter of if you’ll get hacked, but when,” she said.

“That’s why building a culture of security – one that is layered and prioritizes people, process, and technology – is imperative in today’s rapidly evolving payment ecosystem.”

Goodspeed went on to say that everyone in an organization, from board members to IT specialists and the workforce at large, needs to be trained in at least the basics.

This collective approach is not only key to establishing a culture of cybersecurity, but also important for boosting general awareness and understanding.

The blog comes on the back of a new data from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, which revealed a possible hike in fines from data breaches, courtesy of changes to EU legislation.

For example, as Business Insider reported, organizations in the UK could face up to $148 billion (approximately £122 billion) in fines for cybersecurity shortcomings in 2018 alone.

"The new EU legislation will be an absolute gamechanger for both large organizations and SMEs,” Jeremy King, international director at the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, was quoted by the online news provider as saying.

“The regulator will be able to impose a stratospheric rise in penalties for security breaches, and it remains to be seen whether businesses facing these fines will be able to shoulder the costs.”