While security should have always been a significant concern for businesses, this is more true now than ever. There has been a huge rise in data breaches in the past year, and this, unfortunately, shows no signs of slowing down. These data breaches can not only ruin the reputation of your small business, but they can also cost you a lot of money.
In fact, according to an IBM report, the average breach in the USA is over $8 million, the most expensive on the planet. This is bad news for small businesses as a breach costing anywhere near that much could financially ruin many companies.
As a result, it is important to address any potential security risks that may be prevalent at your company. You hold thousands (or millions) of pieces of customer data and information, and it is your duty to protect it, as well as the data and information of your company.
Without any further ado, this article is going to look at a few security risks that your small business or start-up needs to be sure to address.
An Unsecured Network
Every company has a number of devices that exist in, and are connected to a network. Once this included only desktop computers and telephones, this is no longer the case. There are now laptops, cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and so many more devices that can exist in your business network daily.
With so many devices, securing your network is difficult but incredibly important. More devices means more work for network administrators. Not only that, but it can also increase the risk of complications or breaches/leaks. One good idea to help you manage and secure your network is to scan your network for IP addresses. This will let you control the network, and know exactly which devices are in the network, quickly and easily. A secured network is a high-quality network.
Uneducated or Untrained Employees
Easily the biggest security risk that exists right now at your company is your employees. If they are not trained well on security practices and what to do, they can put your company at risk in many ways. As a result, you need to make sure to train and educate your employees well on security best practices and protocols.
This can include; how to create strong passwords, how to avoid phishing emails, and how to safely browse the internet, just to name a few. If you don’t want to handle this training in-house, you can enlist the help of third-party security training providers. Also, if employees bring their own devices, be sure they follow the same security rules and protocols as the company devices to ensure security remains a priority.
Everyone Having Unlimited Access
At many companies, all employees have the same access to all information and data kept by that company. As you can imagine, this could cause some problems. The more people that have access to data or information, the higher the chances that it could be stolen, compromised, or leaked. As a result, restricting access to certain pieces of information should help increase the security of your company.
Only those who actually need the data or information to do their job should have access to said data. You can restrict data based on job position, rank, seniority, or any other parameter you’d like. Not every piece of data or information needs to be restricted, but certainly the most important and sensitive should be.
In conclusion, we hope that this blog post has been able to help your company be as secure as possible. Identifying and eliminating security risks is very important to maintaining a secure and successful company.
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