Whether you're at a large corporation or a small business, your work as a risk manager is likely the same. You’re responsible for learning about your company's vulnerabilities so you can take the precautions necessary to protect your products, data, and employees. The challenge for a small business is that there’s often a tighter budget than at the major Fortune 500 companies.
However, even if you need to be more frugal, you can still take the steps necessary to protect your enterprise. This guide will showcase specific risks and highlight the importance of both cybersecurity and physical security.
Monitoring Risk In Small Businesses
Security and risk management are essential for any business of any size. Small businesses are not exempt. They may be more at risk since many owners believe they’re too small of a fish to be a target. The fact is that just about every company will have data, equipment, or corporate secrets that someone in the world would like to steal and use for malicious purposes. Criminals can literally take items out of your office or hack in and steal your information and the data of your customers.
As a risk management professional, you must consider the particular risks in your location and industry. Look at the statistics in your area and take the proper precautions. Is the crime rate and chance of burglary high in your area? If so, physical security may be what you need. Do you have valuable corporate information that may be appealing to malicious employees in your organization? Then, the solution may be better background checks and employee training. Do you operate mostly online? Then, start with cybersecurity.
Workplace security is vital for many reasons. In addition to protecting your assets, employees who see that security is a priority will feel safer and more secure in the workplace. Happy employees will also be more productive and less likely to look elsewhere for work. From a financial standpoint, you can save money that you may spend to replace stolen items and the time and effort necessary to fill out insurance claims to get back what you lost.
Cybersecurity
Many small business owners falsely assume that since they’re a newer business, they're invisible to hackers. However, hackers know you likely don’t have the proper protections, so they go for you first. After all, any data, from customer names and addresses to social security numbers, can be stolen and used maliciously by cybercriminals.
Value Of A Risk Assessment
You need to know where your vulnerabilities lie. So, your first step to strengthen your cybersecurity is to have an expert complete a cybersecurity risk assessment. The expert will look at your system and advise you on how hackers may gain unlawful access. Then, they will recommend the necessary fixes. You can enact many cost-effective security measures, including installing antivirus software on all computers, adding a firewall, and encrypting your files.
Employee Training Is Crucial
Another cost-effective way to protect your systems is cyber risk education on the common cybersecurity threats so everyone can do their part to watch for scams. These threats that can impact all businesses include ransomware, malware, password hacking, and phishing scams. Educate your teams on the signs of these scams so they can report to you if they see anything suspicious. You must also ensure all employees use strong passwords for their software and systems. Solid passwords should include a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
Also, educate your team on dangerous employees’ actions that can put your company in jeopardy. Examples may include accidentally sending emails with confidential information to the wrong recipients and unintentionally posting data on social media networks. Have your management train the employees so you don’t incur extra costs by hiring trainers outside your organization.
Physical Security
Many people tend to get so tied up in advancing technologies and cybersecurity that they fail to properly secure their physical locations. The fact is that physical security should be as important as cybersecurity because everything has value in the wrong hands. You likely have a security system to protect your home, so you should do the same at the office.
Start by investing in security gates or doors that require a keycard to open. Then, put a security and alarm system in place in case an intruder is able to get past your defenses. That may all seem expensive, but you can often get these options in a more affordable package by shopping around. All entrances must be secured, including garage doors. Effective garage door security should include physical locking mechanisms that prevent the door from being opened manually. Keep your remote control close so it can’t get into the wrong hands. If your garage has windows, apply a privacy film so criminals can’t easily see inside.
Whether it’s for your garage doors or the perimeter of your building, another essential component of your physical security package is a good surveillance system. Place cameras near the garage doors, entrance doors, windows, and the parking lot. Purchase cameras with lights and motion sensors so they can turn on automatically when movement is detected and illuminate the intruder.
A great way to record and store your camera footage without breaking the bank is to look into cloud video. By automatically uploading all video footage to the cloud, you eliminate the expense of a large server to hold the data, and for a small business like yours, a physical server isn’t necessary anyway. Many of these cloud video systems are easy to set up and come at a great price. Plus, most cloud providers will have their own security teams, so you can ensure your footage is safe.
Conclusion
Your business is important, so you must take the proper steps to protect what matters most. By focusing on physical protection and cybersecurity, you can ensure you’re covered on all fronts. Best of all, you can protect your corporation without exceeding your budget.
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