[BreachExchange] How to Secure Your Small Business in a Comprehensive Way

[Audrey McNeil]

https://newswire.net/newsroom/blog-post/00101993-how-to-
secure-your-small-business-in-a-comprehensive-way.html

Security is one of the most important things a business needs right now.
For small businesses operating from a brick-and-mortar office or
establishment, having sufficient security measures is a way to mitigate a
lot of the risks associated with business operations. At the same time,
businesses also need to be more aware of cybersecurity and threats coming
from the digital world.

It is no longer enough to see security from one point of view. Business
security is quickly becoming a holistic thing, covering both online and
offline security threats through the use of multiple measures. You can get
started with this holistic security approach by implementing the following
security measures as the foundation for better business security.

Start with Your Devices

The smartphones and laptops used by people working for the business carry
the biggest security risk and need to be handled first. This includes the
smartphone you use to reply to business emails and check payments to
vendors.

Since smartphones are small and portable, there are a lot of risks
associated with them. Losing your smartphone somewhere or having it stolen
is often the start of more security breaches. Every smartphone associated
with the business needs to be locked. You can also go a step further by
enforcing the use of encryption among employees.

With the help of services like Apple’s Find My iPhone, the risk of
information theft and further security breaches is lower. You can wipe the
phone remotely or completely lock the device until it is returned. Be sure
to have this type of service activated on all smartphones that carry
sensitive business-related data.

Use Strong Passwords

On average, we use eight different accounts every day. This includes the
different email accounts we have, our social media accounts, and many more.
For employees of businesses, the number grows to 11 thanks to additional
business accounts that they must use on a daily basis.

Not having proper password policy is a mistake that could lead to
catastrophic problems. When employees are allowed to use weak passwords to
secure their business accounts, you are exposing the entire business to
information theft and other dangers.

It is also necessary to remind employees to use different passwords for
different accounts. Using the same (weak) password for personal and
business accounts also raises that risk by a substantial margin. When a
personal account gets hacked, the attackers can use the password they
acquired to access sensitive business information.

Compile a Security Policy

There are many ways to secure the digital information that your business
generates. Using encryption and having multiple backup routines are great
ways to ensure that the information related to your business – especially
sensitive operational data – is always fully protected from data loss and
theft. The weak link is actually the people who are authorized to access
the information. This is where having a clear and strong set of security
policies matters.

Every business needs a comprehensive security policy. The purpose of a
security policy is to define how business-related information must be
handled at different times. The policy includes ways to mitigate new
security risks and how to handle the loss of information under different
situations.

Having a policy is only the beginning. Once a security policy is put in
place, it is also necessary to socialize the policy to employees and
stakeholders. Every employee needs to understand the security rules and
guidelines that they need to follow. They need to stay within the
guidelines at all times to avoid unnecessary accidents and breaches.

On-Site Security

We’ve been talking about securing the business from cyber attacks and
information theft so far, but that doesn’t mean on-site security is less
important. When your business operates from a brick-and-mortar office or a
store, having sufficient security measures protecting the premise is just
as important.

A great way to start is by using better locks across the premise. Key
control is another layer of security that the business needs to use. Not
everyone can have access to keys and those who do must be monitored
carefully. Good key control alone can improve on-site security by a
whopping 40%. You always know who can access which area in the workplace.

Sufficient Surveillance

The last piece of the business security foundation equation is
surveillance. No set of security measures is enough without the right
surveillance and business alarm systems protecting the premise 24/7. The
latter actually simplifies – and automates – the process of protecting the
business from unauthorized entries.

With certain business alarm systems, police are notified automatically when
alarms are triggered. This leads to a faster response and better prevention
of further security risks. In certain cases, police arrive at the scene of
the crime before perpetrators can do more damage or steal assets from the
business. The alarm system completes the cycle and provides basic
protection for the business.

Follow the above guidelines and your business should remain protected at
all times.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.riskbasedsecurity.com/pipermail/breachexchange/attachments/20180605/9a78af7a/attachment.html>