Starting a new business is a huge endeavor, so it’s easy to forget aspects like security and safety systems during the flurry of getting your business running at all. Read on to learn a few ways to improve your business’s security and create an effective system for protecting your property, team, and customers.
Access Control Systems
If you’re not a retailer or any other business that needs customers to enter and exit freely, you should regulate who has access to the office. Access control systems are the best method of keeping out intruders while ensuring your employees and authorized personnel can enter without much trouble. The most common access control systems make use of key cards, which are effective as long as you only grant cards to employees who need them.
Furthermore, it’s crucial to make sure you understand the signs of outdated access controls so that you can stay on top of security. With all your day-to-day responsibilities, it can be easy for time to slip away and allow your security systems to degrade.
Cybersecurity
Another crucial method for improving your business’s security is investing in robust cyber security. Small businesses are a huge target for malicious cyber-attacks that seek to harvest data and steal sensitive information. Ensure your business uses a secured Wi-Fi network that you monitor for suspicious activity. Phishing scams are a prominent threat, so it’s wise to train your employees on what to look out for and what to do if they encounter a suspicious e-mail.
When sensitive data is no longer necessary, you don’t want to just delete it off the hard drive or throw the hard drive into the trash. Like sensitive documents, you want to “shred” your hard drive and destroy it completely.
Shred Important Documents
Speaking of shredding, it may seem like overkill to shred important documents that you no longer need. However, you must remember that it is your responsibility to protect both your business’s data and the personal data of your customers. Failing to do so can incur legal penalties and damage your business’s reputation. Better to be thorough than to take the risk at all!
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist who appears weekly in the Los Angeles Wave newspaper and can be reached at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
