When you’re running a small business, it can often be tempting to think your company is too insignificant or your profits are too low to ever be enough of a temptation for a criminal attack. However, quite the opposite is true, and small firms are commonly targeted by both online and offline criminals – mostly because they take a blasé view of security or simply don’t have the budget to adequately protect themselves.
Indeed, statistics show that small to medium-sized enterprises have become the prey of choice – particularly for online hackers. Perhaps worse yet, it’s also now estimated that a company that suffers an online security breach will typically go bust within six months.
If you’re worried about the security of your company, below are some tips that could give you greater peace of mind and avoid falling victim to a breach, whether in the real or digital world.
Move your digital assets to the cloud
If your business is like the majority of firms these days, your data will likely form the lifeblood of your operations. Computers and tech have revolutionized the modern workplace but while they both can bring tremendous advantages, they also pose a significant threat.
To help reduce the dangers posed by cybercriminals, you should entrust your digital operations to a cloud service provider that runs zero trust solutions on their network. Not only will you feel more secure; you’ll also remove the headache and overhead of trying to maintain and run your in-house IT services.
Cloud companies also bring many other considerable benefits, including easy scalability, 24/7 support, access to the fastest tech as well as slashing your operating costs.
Regulate and reduce access
It should go without saying that you should regulate who can access your premises but you may also want to reduce the number of people that can access areas that contain particularly sensitive data or documents. Remember, too, that you should change locks if you lose keys. Another solution is to use card-access systems in your premises that can be reconfigured – for example, if a card is lost or a member of staff leaves.
Invest in a shredder and destroy sensitive business data before trashing it
It’s quite amazing the amount of private company data that can be included in even the most seemingly innocuous of documents so before putting out your trash, shred it in a machine to save leaving yourself exposed. Criminals hunting through your rubbish might not sound like the most likely or dangerous risk your company might face but it is a surprisingly easy way for offenders to learn more about your firm.
Plan ahead and develop some kind of response process
Should the worst happen and you fall victim to an online attack or real-world break-in, you will be in a much better position to deal with it if you have already drawn up some kind of response plan – plus shared it with your staff. You’re inevitably going to need the help and advice of multiple members of your team, so having them well-briefed on what to do will prove to be a tremendous help.
