[BreachExchange] Top Cybersecurity Questions for Small Businesses

[Audrey McNeil]

http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2017/02/top-
cybersecurity-questions-for-small-businesses.html

If you're in business, you better be in the data security business. Even if
you don't transact all of your business online, and even if you don't even
have a website, if you're processing payments electronically, that data
could be at risk. Everything from customer information to proprietary
technology can be valuable to hackers, making cybersecurity perhaps your
most important investment.

Not sure where to get started? Here are five important cybersecurity
questions, and where to go for answers.

1. Is Your Small Business a Target for Hackers?

Yep. Any business, no matter how small, can be a target, so long as you
have something hackers want. That could be as simple as the credit card
information of customers to internal development documents.

2. Customer ID Theft: Are Businesses Liable?

And if hackers are able to obtain identifying information of your customers
and use that information for identity theft, your business could be liable.
If your small business didn't have adequate cybersecurity measures in place
to protect that information, you could be paying thousands or even millions
in damages.

3. Do You Have to Tell Customers About a Data Breach?

If you do detect a possible data breach, you may have a legal obligation to
alert affected customers as soon as possible. Some states, like California,
have notification statutes that require companies that have been hacked to
notify customers notify customers "in the most expedient time possible and
without unreasonable delay," and federal laws to the same effect may be
coming soon.

4. Should You Demand Proof of Cybersecurity From Vendors?

Sometimes you need to entrust sensitive corporate information with others,
especially with vendors. So do you need to ensure that they have the same,
if not better, cybersecurity protocols in place in order to protect that
information?

5. How Could the New Small Business Cyber Security Act Affect Your Small
Biz?

The Small Business Association is dedicating more funds to boost
cybersecurity across all small businesses, and will be working in concert
with the Department of Homeland Security to make it happen. See how that
could improve cybersecurity at your company.
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