Is Your Online Business Safe?
Implementing proper security measures in your business is essential for protecting your intellectual property. Here are my eight tips for keeping your online business safe.
1 – Use Multiple Passwords
It might seem like a hassle, but you’re better off using a different secure password for every site you hold an account on. This way, if one of your passwords is ever discovered, your information on other sites will still be protected. If juggling multiple passwords around in your head feels like too much of a chore, I recommend getting your hands on LastPass, a software that will allow you to have a single master password to protect, store, manage, and access all your others. It also contains a variety of extra features, such as a form-filling function, a password generator tool, and two-factor authentication for added security.
2 – Back It Up!
Your website is your storefront. It represents your brand, sets the stage for your business, and is your primary medium through which you communicate information to your clients. Keep it safe; back it up. For WordPress users, Updraft is an excellent program that will automatically backup your website at a regular interval of your choosing (every 4, 8, or 12 hours, daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly). It can also assist in moving your entire site to a different domain, and will even trigger automatic backups before major WordPress updates to ensure that your data and formatting is not negatively affected.
3 – Back It All Up!
I highly recommend that you invest in an external hard drive and backup your entire computer on a regular basis. Studies show that only about 5% of people back up their data on a daily basis, and yet over 90% of businesses that suffer major data loss go out of business within a year. Be one of the smart ones; your clients and your future self will appreciate the initiative and added sense of security. Seagate manufactures an excellent and diverse line of external hard drives for any budget. At the time of writing this post, a 1-terabyte drive runs around $80, but if you can set aside a little more, you can score a 6-terabyte drive for just under $200, and even less on a sale.
4 – Own Your Content
All files stored in cloud services such a Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive should be created within your account so that you are the owner. Be careful about to whom you grant permission to modify your files. Finally, be sure to thoroughly read the user agreements of any cloud service you use to ensure that their policy is in your best interest. Don’t trust a cloud service with protecting your intellectual property before you read what you’re signing up for!
5 – Stay Up to Date
Be sure to update your computer’s operating system and software regularly. This will ensure top-notch performance, and in the event that you should run into technical issues, it will make troubleshooting a whole lot easier. Also, be sure to stay current with your security updates. You may feel pestered by being prompted to update your antivirus software on a weekly or even daily basis, but malware accounts for a surprising percentage of data loss cases; up to 7%. Don’t be one of the unlucky few!
6 – Protect Your Network
Ensure that your wireless network and its associated password are protected. Avoid sharing your password with visitors. You can always create a “guest” network for sharing with visitors, but change the password to this one often. For extra security, consider acquiring VPN software. This will help you protect your IP address while browsing. Your intellectual property is valuable; if you’re planning on both running your business and shopping online through the same computer, make sure you take that extra step to keep your network secure.
7 – Standard Operating Procedures
Optimize your workflow by taking the time to document the steps you take to complete tasks. Putting together a set of standard operating procedures will ensure that your business’ daily tasks are managed in a more consistent, closely monitored, and ultimately secure manner. If a team member leaves or is absent, others will easily be able to take over in their place and keep things running with little disruption. Finally, it will bring you great peace of mind to get that flurry of information out of your head, onto paper, and then perfected.
8 – Get it in Writing
All is good – until it isn’t. When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to put together a team made up of a small group of friends and operate on an honour system. While this can work great, it comes with its own security risks. The integrity of your team is critical; even a little bit of disorganization on their part can seriously compromise your business’ security. For this reason, I suggest you have written agreements with all your team members. Delegate who handles what. Set rules for how sensitive information is handled. Make sure everyone understands what is expected of them, and the consequences of not meeting those expectations.
Need help putting these ideas into action? Want to learn even more about how to keep your business secure? Schedule a complimentary discovery call with me, and we’ll get you on the right track!
Recent Comments