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The Flevy Blog covers Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
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Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Digital Transformation Strategy (145-slide PowerPoint presentation). Digital Transformation is being embraced by organizations across most industries, as the role of technology shifts from being a business enabler to a business driver. This has only been accelerated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Thus, to remain competitive and outcompete in today's fast paced, [read more]
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Security should always be a top priority for business owners, both in terms of your physical building security and online security. As a business owner your office, and the data stored on your computer systems, are often the site of your most valuable possessions. Theft is a serious threat to any business, and can happen through lapse security systems or via online cyber attacks. As a business owner it does not matter what size your company is, it is vital that you take your security seriously and invest adequately in it as otherwise you could risk everything.
Cyber attacks and the use of malware to do damage to businesses are on the increase, growing in both frequency and extremity. In 2017, ransomware attacks rose by 250% and cost an approximate $5 billion to businesses. The cost of cyber crime damages is expected to rise to a massive $6 trillion annually by 2021. For online security using antivirus and anti-malware software is vital, but should not be your only defence strategy. Ensure that strong passwords are used throughout your business email accounts, ideally combining upper and lower case letters with numbers and symbols. Passwords should be changed every three months. Add encryption software onto work laptops and mobile phones so that if they are stolen the information cannot be used. Backup your data regularly, and always update your computer operating systems.
It is important to physically protect your business by installing reliable and robust security systems such as burglar alarms and HD CCTV. Investing in a camera security system and robust alarms could save your business thousands in terms of the damage an intruder could cause. Similarly, a cyber attack could cost your business in many ways. Your reputation could be damaged if, for example, the attack means that the personal contact or financial information of your customers has been seized by cybercriminals. The time lost in trying to override a ransomware or undo the damage caused is also money lost. Seek the advice of professionals to ensure that you are well protected, for example an expert team from eurolinksecurity.co.uk can help by performing a risk assessment on both your building and IT systems.
Burglaries, break-ins and dangerous intruders can attack a business of any size, and often smaller businesses have less robust security systems in place to prevent this. In the online world cybercriminals care about one thing only, and that is the data they can capture. Being a small business does not make you safer, as if your business operates a computer then cyber attacks are a threat to you. If you have files containing information on health data, credit cards or customer contact information then consider yourself at high risk of an attack. In fact, many small businesses may not have sufficient security in place and as such are more appealing to hackers than targeting a bigger business with robust systems in place may be. Similarly botnets, ransomware or trojan attacks spread through wide phishing campaigns are automated to seek out any holes in security, so if you have any security lapses online they may find them.
You can download in-depth presentations on Cyber Security and 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.
For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:
These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.
