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Don't think your small business is at r sk? Think again. Whether you realize it or n t, your business has valuable information and ssets that probably are not protected r ght now. Your business likely has c nfidential client information, proprietary business knowledge or j st internal knowledge that you wouldn't w nt to be exposed to criminals or c mpetitors. The loss of this information c uld have a devastating impact to y ur business. While business insurance is an mportant part of your protection, it c nnot protect clients from identity theft or y ur business from unscrupulous employees or c mpetitors. No matter how big or sm ll, your business needs to have a s curity and recovery plan in place th t determines what risks you have, h lps protect against those risks and s ts plans in place to handle the m st likely types of losses you may xperience. Your plan should also l ok at the both the 'physical' and the 'v rtual' aspects of your business. Start by c nsidering the types of risks to wh ch your business may be vulnerable. Wh t if your business information was l st or stolen? Do you have c stomer files or records, tax receipts, b nk statements, business plans, customer work pr ducts?
Next, consider the physical aspects of y ur business that may be vulnerable. Do you h ve unique office equipment, inventory, computers or tr de specific tools? Finally, look at how you do b siness. Do you rely on technology, the nternet or employees with unique skills? D es your business model depend on r peatable processes that are unique to y ur business? Now, consider what would h ppen to your business if these p rts of your business were lost, d stroyed or stolen. Could you continue perating if you lost your client f les? Could you be sued by c stomers if their personal information was xposed? Could you be the target of n gative publicity? Could your competitors benefit if th y gained access to the information? Wh t if you lost email access for a d y? What if that key employee s ddenly left for another job? What if y ur office space caught fire or was fl oded? Your security and recovery plan sh uld put in place the safeguards and p licies and procedures to prevent some of th se risks and the potential to n gatively impact your business. Physical access to b ildings is relatively easy to control lthough most small business have little m re than a lock on the fr nt door. Should you consider l cking file drawers? Is inventory controlled? D es every employee have access, even to th ngs that are not part of his or her j b? Could a disgruntled or fired mployee return to the workspace after h urs with an extra key copy? Y ur plan should consider how to pr tect the 'virtual' parts of your b siness also. Do you have backups of any mportant files? Do you have passwords, ccount numbers and other 'keys' securely g arded? Do your computers have virus and f rewall protection and is it up-to-date? Do you h ve internet and email usage policies in pl ce to protect your employees form h rassment charges?
What about remote employees or w rkers who 'take work home?' In t day's highly mobile environment vital business nformation can now be easily accessed utside of your physical controls? Do y ur employees know how to safeguard l ptops, cell phones, flash drives or ven print outs of business information nce they leave your workspace? What if a l ptop is stolen from a worker's car or h me or hotel room? Do you h ve a backup of the data th t was on the laptop? What if y ur employees are accessing your information fr m a coffee shop Wi-Fi? How do you kn w if your clients and business are pr tected? Lastly, your security and recovery pl n should consider how you would h ndle the most likely losses. For nstance, if the computer that holds all y ur sales information crashes, you should pr bably have a plan to immediately r store that information from a backup. Wh re is the backup tape or d sk kept? Who has access to it and m st importantly, who knows how to r store a backup? If you office is fl oded, how quickly can you relocate? Can s me employees work from home or ther remote locations temporarily? If client nformation is stolen, do you have a way to c ntact them? Most small business owners l kely have taken first steps like p rchasing insurance and putting locks on the fr nt door. Unfortunately, few have taken the t me to really understand the potential r sks to their business. Taking the t me now to at least put t gether an informal plan will go a l ng way in the event of a r al disaster or other loss. Even the b st planning obviously won't protect against all d sasters but it can certainly lessen the mpact to your business once one ccurs.
The article Your Small Business May Be At Risk Unless You Have A Security and Recovery Plan was Submitted by Aubrey Jones through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Aubrey Jones is President and f under of Riverbank Consulting, Inc. - http://www.RiverbankConsulting.com and Webs 4 Small Business - http://www.Webs4SMB.com - Since 1996 he has worked to protect internet banking clients for one of the top US financial institutions. Visit SecurePCNews.com - http://www.SecurePCNews.com to learn how to protect your identity.
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