Small businesses fuel economic growth and provide over 56 million jobs in the United States.

However, their size makes them more susceptible to cyber attacks and theft. To prevent loss, business owners must develop a security plan that can identify vulnerabilities and outline strategies to safeguard their company.

Below, we detail how to create a security protection plan and what features to include when protecting your business’ digital and physical assets.

Creating the Right Security Protection Plan

Business owners must continually address security threats as their company grows. As more stakeholders, such as vendors and employees, become involved, more data access points are created for criminals both on and off the web.

To mitigate potential risks, business owners should conduct regular, thorough security audits to ensure the right vulnerabilities are protected at every stage. While the right security protection plan differs from company to company, it is essential that small businesses protect the following assets:

  • Employees
  • Inventory
  • Physical property
  • Sensitive data (e.g., credit card and personal contact information)

Work with a trusted vendor to develop a protection plan that will provide the best security for your specific business needs.

Securing Physical Assets

Protect your tangible assets with security equipment. Assess your inventory and the location of your business to determine which features should be included in your protection plan.

  • Automated lights and locks. Keep your business safe and secure with scheduled lighting and locking to ward off intruders.
  • Monitored alarms. Automatically dispatch emergency personnel in the case of a break-in, fire or high carbon dioxide levels.
  • Mobile solutions. Receive alerts to your smartphone whenever an alarm is triggered.
  • Video surveillance. View real-time footage of your business from any device.

Ensure former employees cannot access sensitive data following succession, when a new hire takes over a position, or termination by assigning unique user codes that can be easily removed from the system when someone leaves the company. Doing so will secure your business from outside access.

Protecting Digital Data

As data breaches become more sophisticated, business owners must keep up with the latest security trends to protect critical data. In 2014, 31 percent of small to mid-sized businesses were not taking active measures to protect against security threats, making them huge targets for cyber attacks.

A lack of digital security can be devastating to a small business facing a data breach, each costing, on average, $36,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, such as customer notification, credit monitoring, liability charges and an upgraded POS system.

At such a high cost, smart business owners understand that digital assets are just as important to protect as physical assets.

The right security plan for your small business will reduce risks at all stages, provide protection for both physical and digital assets and help keep your business afloat.

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