It is so important to keep your business protected and safe, and when it is growing fast, little things could slip and cause chaos to your business.
However, there are ways in which this could be made easier. Introducing security procedures, training your employees in the risks and preventions, investing in the right hardware and software to make your business a more difficult target, and installing physical security to your site.
Train your employees to be security-aware
It is so important to train your employees so that they are totally security-aware and not only for the safety of your business but for the safety of your customers and your employees too. Personal online safety is something that affects everyone, regardless of whether they are at work or at home.
Your employees should be taught how to protect themselves, your business, and your customers. They should also be aware of what will happen should their data, your business’s data, or your customer’s data be made accessible to cybercriminals or physical theft.
Although most people know about passwords, keycodes, and lanyards, not many understand what is actually at risk and how it could affect them personally.
It is vitally important that you instill in your employees the importance of logging out from their computer every time they leave their workstation, even if it is to go and speak to the person in the next cubicle or in the next aisle. They should also be spoken to about the need to change their password regularly and not to use any information within their password that could be easily deemed from their social media profile or posts.
Invest in the correct level of support
It is important for the sake of your business that you invest in as high a level of support and online protection as your business can afford. Using top-of-the-range hardware and software, which also has a support package available with it, such as products from SonicWall Online, can help protect your business from cybercrime.
Cybercrime is changing all the time; cybercriminals are known to be smart, cunning, and ruthless. Something that is worth keeping in mind is that they do not even have to be in the same state as your business. In fact, they could be on a different continent entirely.
They will try all that they can to obtain data to sell it to other criminals. Although it is not guaranteed that you will not be the target of a criminal, cyber or otherwise, it is the best option to make it as hard as possible for them to gain entrance in the hope that they give up and move on to an easier target before they break through into your business.
Install physical security measures
Of course, criminals do not just come under the heading of cybercrime. There are still the old-fashioned ones that will walk through your front door and take all that they can. For these criminals, you will need to install physical security measures such as key-coded entry to all of your buildings and personalized lanyards for all of your employees with their photos, names, and maybe even departments on.
Make sure that your outside area is well lit with floodlights. This will not only keep your site and your employees safe after they have left your building but will also deter pests and criminals too.
However, with this being said, it is a shame to say that when it comes to theft, the culprits mostly are, unfortunately, the employees themselves. Therefore, it is important that you take this into account when hiring new members of staff. Be sure to vet them well and, where possible, zone them so that they do not have access to areas on your software or within your premises that they do not need to have.
When it comes to existing staff members, you may find that it is beneficial to your business to have them zoned too, especially when it comes to being able to access data that they do not need to have to carry out their daily job roles.
Put together procedures for your employees to follow
With this in mind, it is prudent to put together procedures for your employees to follow. You may find that should you be compromised in any way, any outsider will not be aware of any particular procedures that need to be carried out, and their actions may stand out like a sore thumb and therefore attract closer attention.
Procedures are not just there to catch out the occasional criminal or wrongdoer but can also help your business function better as a whole. Having all your employees carrying out certain jobs in the same way will mean that nothing will get forgotten. Having employee procedures going hand in hand with your own security measures could mean the difference between a smooth ride with no incidences and a sea storm with total chaos should things go wrong.