The world is now a rush of information. The Internet has made it easier than ever for people to get the information they need. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a good thing. Of course we’re all happy that we can perform an Internet search on any subject and be enlightened within seconds. But it’s also made it easier for criminals to get information that they shouldn’t have.
Your business needs to keep some information confidential. It also needs to be protected against theft of physical assets like computers. Of course, this may seem easier said than done. Big business can afford beefy security measures. They can hire private security guards or super hi-tech door locking technologies. But your small business doesn’t need to stay unsafe. Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to increase your business security.
Make sure your employees know the importance of security
Creating a culture of security will work wonders for the safety of your company. You need to really drill into your employees the importance of keeping the office secure. A section about security should be included in a small handbook given to new employees.
Outline important security measures in an e-mail. Send it to everyone in the company. Request that they reply confirming that they’ve read and understood these measures. If someone doesn’t reply, chase them up about it! You should also ensure that you have a nondisclosure agreement signed by your employees. This will enable you to take legal action if they leak any information about your confidential projects. Obviously, the hope is that it doesn’t come to that! But it does highlight to the employee the importance of security.
Don’t forget about physical documents
People become so focussed on keeping emails and other online documents safe. Obviously this is a good thing! But don’t let the focus of cybersecurity blind you to the threat of conventional methods of theft.
Despite the idyllic dreams of paperless offices, most of us still use a lot of paper. Much of it is used for confidential information. It’s important you make sure employees know that they shouldn’t let such documents out of their sight. If you need to keep documents for a long time, make sure they’re under lock and key. If you have a lot of documents you want to get rid of, consider commercial document shredding.
Don’t let your employees ignore security updates
Online security software can feel like a blessing and a curse. It protects us from viruses, intrusions and other online nasties. But when you get those popups asking you to update? That’s just annoying! Right?
Sure, it can be. And it’s tempting to just minimize the popup and keep on working. But this leaves you open to risk. Updates are required because criminals are always updating their methods. Security software adapts, and you need to allow it to do so. Make sure you and your employees update security software when prompted. Try to keep up with the website of your security provider. If an update is scheduled, you can take measures to ensure that the update causes minimal disruption to workflow.
