5 Signs That Security in Your Business Needs to be Improved

Security is a huge issue for businesses in the digital age. With more businesses now switching to the cloud than ever before, there is a greater need to protect data and ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Even the government have taken steps to help SMBs improve business security through their Cyber Essentials Scheme. Businesses that have Cyber Essentials are protected against the most common cyber security threats and displaying the badge is great a way to show customers that your business takes data security seriously.

To help you determine if your business is secure enough, below are 5 of the biggest signs that the security in your business needs to be improved.

1. No protocols for data access

Not having any clear protocols for data access is a very common mistake that many organisations make. If anyone can simply access data without there being any protocol to follow, then it could pose a serious risk to your data and systems. For this reason, many businesses are now putting ground level security in place to prevent data loss and theft.

The basic idea of putting access control measures in place is to restrict the number of people who have access to sensitive and important data to as few as possible. If employees in one part of your organisation do not need access to a particular database, then there’s no reason for them to be able to access it since it only puts your data at unnecessary risk.

2. Old and insecure passwords are still in use

Password security is hugely important for SMBs but many don’t have any system in place to ensure that passwords are regularly updated; or that secure enough passwords are being used in the first place. The most secure passwords are those that include a combination of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and symbols. The trouble with these types of passwords is that they’re hard to memorise and this alone can put employees off using them.

One obvious solution to this problem might be to use a password manager. A password manager will enable you and your staff to easily store log in credentials for each service in a convenient and secure way. Of course the password manager itself will require a secure password but it’s much easier to remember one secure password than dozens.

3. Physical storage devices are used for data sharing

Relying on physical storage devices to share data is a bad security practice that’s still surprisingly common. Many business managers believe storing data locally is a good idea since it cuts out the risk of it being hacked. Although there is some validity to this, the risk of a storage device such as a USB drive falling into the wrong hands or getting lost is substantial. Not only that but there are now an abundance of excellent cloud storage services specifically for businesses that are very secure and convenient, so storing data on physical devices simply isn’t necessary.

4. Inadequate staff training

It may be surprising to learn that the biggest risk to the security of your company doesn’t come from outside but from your own employees. This is often because of a lack of good training and not due to malicious intent. Simple things such as training your staff how to use software properly and informing them of the importance of changing passwords regularly are easy to neglect but can cost your business a lot in the long run.

5. Infrequent or unreliable backups

No matter how secure the data storage service you use might be, it’s always vital that your data is backed up regularly. A number of cloud storage services can back up your data automatically so it’s not something you have to worry about. If your data is being stored locally though, then backing it up yourself on a regular basis is extremely important since the risk of data loss or corruption is significant.

If you’d like to find out more about how Grant McGregor can help to improve the security of your business, then get in touch and we can explain the benefits of the services and solutions we offer to SMBs.

Get our free 15 Point Security Checklist HERE!

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