Operations

Business security systems and processes: 4 key areas

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This concise guide outlines what you need to consider for small business security systems and the four crucial business areas to protect: physical premises, data, intellectual property and reputation.

Why even small operators need business security systems

Among the misconceptions, every small business owner needs to get rid of the idea that they are much less vulnerable to common business threats than larger businesses. One thing they often don’t realize is that criminals aren’t just interested in the most successful brands; they’re also after lesser-known ones.

Due to recent cyberattacks, a large number of small businesses have gone out of business. They take cybersecurity for granted. And end up becoming victims of cybercrime. It is, however, easy to put steps in place to avoid this.

But cybercrime is not the only threat you have to worry about nowadays, and this is a very important fact to realize. Bringing your reputation under the greatest protection is what you should also focus on to ensuring your reputation is kept safe. 

Business security systems for the premises

There is no question about it, whether you run a small or a large business, or if you have a store or a factory, you must make sure your premises are secure. As well as investing in CCTV cameras and high-quality locks, you should protect your physical space by limiting employee access to different parts of it. It is important that employees report suspicious individuals or activities whenever they become aware of them. It is not just about protecting your employees and products; it is also about protecting your employees and customers.

Securing Intellectual Property

Some assets should be owned and controlled by you alone. Intangible property includes rights to duplicate, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. In the absence of full protection, you might be in big trouble. If you share trade secrets, make sure you have non-disclosure agreements in place and protect your content with copyrights. All of your brand names, logos, product names, etc. should be protected by a trademark and a registered trademark symbol — taking into account important trademark considerations. An invention should be patented as soon as possible when it has been developed.

Business security systems for data

Business data cannot be protected by cheap routers. Consider investing in a VPN, a firewall, and antivirus, and anti-malware software. Ensure that all employees adhere to the company’s IT policies. Don’t take backups for granted. Keeping and retrieving text messages that you have sent and received is also a good idea if you hire an archiving service.

Don’t forget reputation protection

There are different types of business insurance. You should ensure that your reputation is protected by the right kind of coverage to protect yourself against reputation damage. Reputation insurance can protect your business or brand in the case of another business or individual makes allegations that taint your reputation. Your actions might result in a lawsuit if it caused losses to another business. You can cover their losses by paying the right premium. You could also consider using reputation management services

It doesn’t matter if you own a startup or a small-sized business. Your reputation can either help you build a name in the industry or pull your business down. It is not enough that you strive to achieve a good business reputation. Protect your reputation at all costs and get a competitive advantage that you need to grow and succeed.

Involve staff in business security systems and processes

Because humans are the biggest risk factor, those responsible for business security systems and processes should deal more intensively with the staff. It sounds paradoxical, but an employee receives the greatest attention before the start and after the end of his employment relationship. Thus, the human resources departments have clear processes for the recruitment, recruitment and exhibition phases. But what happens in the meantime?

Most companies look at the critical interfaces and change processes among employees themselves, but not at the standard in everyday life. It is not the new intern who steals the data. Rather, the focus sometimes has to be on those who are not at all in the sights of the security people.

For example, a 50-year-old with two children, who has been in the company for five years, can pose a much higher risk if, for example, he comes under financial pressure from divorce. Even if he has been a loyal employee for years, this can change very quickly. And he knows the company’s “crown jewels” better than an intern who works in the company for six weeks.

In view of the fact that, according to a study, only 60 percent of employees are loyal to their company and 25 percent no longer want to have anything to do with it, a stronger focus on the individual employee is advisable when implementing business security systems and processes.

Benjamin Franklin once said: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” This insight can be transferred to the mediation of security topics in the company. If you only talk about security systems and processes, you will fail, if you illustrate the security systems and processes, you will get nods from one or two of your staff.

But if you want to achieve a sustainable impact, involve people in the business security systems and processes. For this reason, more and more companies are moving to initiate awareness campaigns that are precisely geared towards this. They help to ensure that security systems and processes involve employees, the vulnerabilities become visible to everyone, and position them in the right context.

Conclusion

The awareness of employees and the associated measures or the security systems and processes as such not only lead to a cultural change, but also foster organizational and process adjustments in the company. When employees are encouraged to change behavior during the business security systems and processes awareness campaign, IT and organizational units get a lot to do.

Because when employees are sensitized, they also become active! If they are to behave safely, the framework conditions must be right. Questions raised must be able to be addressed and answered and the required behavior must be feasible in practice. What good is it to explain to employees that documents must be excluded (CleanDesk approach) if the key for the filing cabinet cannot be found, or if confidential documents need to be shredded but no shredder is available anywhere in the department? Successful business security systems and processes awareness is therefore not only awareness of security, but also enabling secure behavior.

Human behavior is not so easy to “program”. Many factors must be taken into account that influence behavior. Business security is accordingly more than just technology. IT managers should refrain from using only digital tools – pure technology – to protect company-owned data and information at a time. Effective and sustainable information security works if it cross-sections the entire company, through all processes and hierarchies. A safety culture can only be established if there is also a lived and active corporate culture. One does not work without the other.

 

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