subject: Your Small Business May Be At Risk Unless You Have A Security And Recovery Plan - Nike Zoom Kobe 7 [print this page] The loss of this information could have a devastating impact to your business Nike Zoom Kobe 7. While business insurance is an important part of your protection, it cannot protect clients from identity theft or your business from unscrupulous employees or competitors.
No matter how big or small, your business needs to have a security and recovery plan in place that determines what risks you have, helps protect against those risks and sets plans in place to handle the most likely types of losses you may experience Nike Total Air Foamposite Max. Your plan should also look at the both the aphysicala and the avirtuala aspects of your business.
Start by considering the types of risks to which your business may be vulnerable Nike Air Penny 1. What if your business information was lost or stolen Do you have customer files or records, tax receipts, bank statements, business plans, customer work products Next, consider the physical aspects of your business that may be vulnerable.
Do you have unique office equipment, inventory, computers or trade specific toolsFinally, look at how you do business. Do you rely on technology, the internet or employees with unique skills Does your business model depend on repeatable processes that are unique to your businessNow, consider what would happen to your business if these parts of your business were lost, destroyed or stolen. Could you continue operating if you lost your client files Could you be sued by customers if their personal information was exposed Could you be the target of negative publicity Could your competitors benefit if they gained access to the information What if you lost email access for a day What if that key employee suddenly left for another job What if your office space caught fire or was floodedYour security and recovery plan should put in place the safeguards and policies and procedures to prevent some of these risks and the potential to negatively impact your business. Physical access to buildings is relatively easy to control although most small business have little more than a lock on the front door. Should you consider locking file drawers Is inventory controlled Does every employee have access, even to things that are not part of his or her job Could a disgruntled or fired employee return to the workspace after hours with an extra key copyYour plan should consider how to protect the avirtuala parts of your business also. Do you have backups of any important files Do you have passwords, account numbers and other akeysa securely guarded Do your computers have virus and firewall protection and is it up-to-date Do you have internet and email usage policies in place to protect your employees form harassment charges What about remote employees or workers who atake work homea In todayas highly mobile environment vital business information can now be easily accessed outside of your physical controls Do your employees know how to safeguard laptops, cell phones, flash drives or even print outs of business information once they leave your workspace What if a laptop is stolen from a workeras car or home or hotel room Do you have a backup of the data that was on the laptop What if your employees are accessing your information from a coffee shop Wi-Fi How do you know if your clients and business are protected Lastly, your security and recovery plan should consider how you would handle the most likely losses. For instance, if the computer that holds all your sales information crashes, you should probably have a plan to immediately restore that information from a backup. Where is the backup tape or disk kept Who has access to it and most importantly, who knows how to restore a backup If you office is flooded, how quickly can you relocate Can some employees work from home or other remote locations temporarily If client information is stolen, do you have a way to contact themMost small business owners likely have taken first steps like purchasing insurance and putting locks on the front door. Unfortunately, few have taken the time to really understand the potential risks to their business.
