Is your company vulnerable to risk? Simply put, yes.
The size of your company has little to do with whether or not it will be a target for thieves and hackers.
In today’s growing digital world, data is highly valuable. Your data and your customers’ data hold the same value as your physical assets. Sometimes, it’s more valuable.
Successful companies always employ some method for reducing exposure to danger. In many cases, all a small business owner can do is follow the law and try to do business with decent people.
Sadly, even decent individuals frequently experience unfavorable outcomes.
If you’ve started out as a small business owner, you have had to build your company from the ground up.
To keep your business secure and protect your assets, along with everything you’ve built so far, it’s essential that you take appropriate actions.
In this article, we will talk about how you can ensure security for both the physical and digital assets of your small business.
How to Safeguard Your Physical Assets
Ownership for safeguarding your small business should be shared at all levels of your organization. Protecting your digital information is meaningless if you fail to properly secure your physical office spaces and assets first.
Location
Do your research before settling on a new address for your company if you are in the market for one.
Do some research on the area’s crime rate and approach local business owners to get their perspective on the situation.
Once you’ve settled on a place, it’s a good idea to get to know the local law enforcement. you’re comfortable liaising with them should an issue arise.
Make an effort to meet your neighbors and join trade groups in your area.
Having reliable employees looking after your business when you can’t is a tremendous help in this regard as well.
Comprehensive Procedures for Interviewing and Hiring Employees
Perhaps you won’t have to conduct criminal background checks on every candidate, but have you checked with their references?
Do you look at their online profiles?
Check out each candidate’s social media profile and do a quick Google search on their names before making a hiring decision. Verify the accuracy of each résumé to the best of your ability.
Conducting pre-employment verifications like reference checks, background checks, and personal character evaluations will help you ensure your company’s security and welfare in the long run.
Limit Certain Access to Employees
Don’t provide every employee of your company access to private and sensitive files unless they have a legitimate business need for them. Make certain documents available to only certain employees and keep them out of reach of others.
The same principle applies to keys; only provide duplicates to those who truly require them.
Don’t lose track of who has entered your office premises.
Security System
If you are concerned that the lock on the door is not sufficient, you should install a more robust security system. Choose a security system that will detect intruders and notify the police in cases of emergencies.
The most reliable locks are deadbolts and padlocks. Timed locks, which automatically open and close at specific times and keep a log of all accesses, are another option to consider.
Make Your Property Less Tempting to Thieves
Making some minor adjustments to your daily procedures and physical location can make your place of business less appealing to would-be criminals.
Keep your cash on hand to a minimum and make consistent deposits.
Put in lights both inside and outside. Put in the strongest locks you can find. Lock all the doors, windows, and other entrances. Verify that no bushes or other plants obstruct any windows or doorways.
You should always greet customers by name and make eye contact with them as they enter your establishment.
Hire A Security Service Agency
It’ll be best for the security of your business premises and physical assets to hire a proper security service company, as it will be able to provide you with the security consultation you need along with the security you require to protect your business.
Be it providing safety to your employees, securing your company’s premises, protecting your company’s assets, or helping you set up a strong security system, a security service agency can help you with all that.
How to Safeguard Your Digital Assets
Losing sensitive customer information like credit card numbers, addresses, or NID card numbers can ruin your business’s reputation and make it difficult, if not impossible, to win back customers. A lack of understanding and awareness can cause a business to not take proper cybersecurity measures. Let’s see what you can do to ensure a safer cyberspace for your business:
Securing Your Server
Make sure your company’s and your customers’ data is only accessible through limited entry points. Put up firewalls.
Keep data backups offsite so that you can rapidly restore them after getting hacked and get back up and running in no time.
Only allow essential individuals access to your data.
Keeping Emails Clean
Email is your weakest digital access point, and this is mostly because of unintentional mistakes by your employees.
Ensure that your email is being scanned for potentially harmful links and viruses and that your employees are trained on common phishing techniques and other email scams.
Encourage them to ignore suspicious emails and not click on attachments or links without being sure of their safety.
Password Protection
Employees should use complex passwords and change them frequently to prevent hacking. Two-factor authentication could be useful for sensitive systems that store a lot of valuable information. A password management system can help you and your staff avoid using simple passwords if that’s a problem.
Using Anti-virus
You should spend money on software that can identify and remove security risks.
Consult A Cybersecurity Firm
Even if you have hired a designated IT employee, it may be worthwhile to contract with a cybersecurity firm to handle your virus and cyber security needs. You should look at security as an investment, as it will be fruitful in the long run.
Final Words
A few simple precautions can go a long way when you are trying to secure the physical and digital assets of your business.
You’ve worked hard to build your business, make a name for your brand, and establish your place in the industry. Don’t jeopardize it by taking things lightly when it comes to the security of your business assets and premises, along with the safety of your employees.
Make sure to take all necessary actions in order to strengthen your business’s security so that your digital information as well as your physical assets are protected from any type of harm.
Also, make sure to hire a proper security company to provide you with proper security consulting and security services. This simple procedure will help you keep your business secure and safe and protect your assets.