Is your business safe and secure? Are you sure about that? Most businesses aren’t and the owners are completely unaware of how detrimental a safety breach could be. Others think that it is impossible to provide complete company protection. Let’s clear up that misconception right now. It is possible to protect your company, but an expense is attached. Many business owners are unwilling to pay that expense and instead aim to save money. They don’t realize that by not protecting their business, they could end up losing a lot more. Let’s look at some of the ramifications of limited business security and how you could protect your company.
Dangers Of Vulnerability
Let’s look at the worse case scenario here. You have no physical security features, nor have you invested in digital safety online. By not having physical security features, you leave yourself open to theft or a break-in. During this break-in, criminals could damage your office or property and steal important files. They could even steal tech worth thousands, and you’ll have to buy it all back. Now you may say, ah but my business is insured. Be careful with that assumption, though. There are numerous business insurance providers that attach certain stipulations to contracts. Your insurer may only pay up if you have some form of security. Usually, this includes CCTV and alarm systems. Otherwise, they know, you are more likely to be a victim of theft. They might still offer you insurance. However, your premium will be through the roof.
That’s not the only issue that arises from a lack of physical security either. Your business property might be dangerous, for whatever reason. For instance, you could have a multistorey carpark attached to your business property. If people can easily access this after hours, it could be dangerous. They could fall from the top and hurt themselves. If this happens and there was no security to stop it, you could be held liable.
Then there’s the issue of no digital security. This leaves you open to viruses, hacks and data theft. It could cost you a lot of money, damage the reputation of your business and lose you customers. If a hacker gains access to your system, they will be looking for customer information. If they get it, they can complete fraudulent activities. That activity will eventually be sourced by the customer’s bank back to your business. You will again, be held accountable.
Even if there is no hack, a virus could still cripple your business network. If you don’t have IT support, it could take days or even weeks to get it back up and running.
Now that we’ve established the dangers let’s look at the simply ways you can protect your company.
Forms Of Protection
It is suggested that you start with digital security. Do make sure that you have antivirus software on your network. You may also want to make sure that business employees can not access every site online. Some sites are more dangerous than others and susceptible to viruses. It might also be useful to look into how you store your data.
A lot of businesses these days are switching to a secure file sharing system. This makes hacks less likely and is far safer than physical data storage. Instead, your data is stored on a cloud with multiple levels of security.
If your computer network does crash due to a virus, it might be useful to have an IT support team on call. An IT support team will monitor your business network. They will do everything possible to ensure a hack or virus is prevented. If it does damage to your systems, they will repair it as quickly as possible. The possibility of long downtimes is removed completely.
For physical security, it’s about setting up your business to act as a deterrent. You need to stop criminals or trespassers even considering entering your property. The best way to do this is by setting up security that looks dangerous and expensive. CCTV is cheap to install but certainly looks impressive. Criminals may assume you have more expensive security inside. You may also want to look into hiring guards during the night time. While more expensive than adding tech, it makes your business less vulnerable. This is particularly important if you are storing expensive equipment.
The bottom line is that the consequences of having no business security are severe. You must do everything in your power to prevent them. The good news is that you could probably set up everything for under a thousand. That’s an absolute steal considering how much it could save you in the future.
