In order for businesses to have the best security possible, they need to plan for the worst. Particularly as the holiday season approaches, the importance of implementing this kind of planning becomes especially acute. If companies fail to do the most they can to protect their enterprise, then it’s not a matter of if they’ll experience an attack, but when.
Dodging disasters with a strong plan
So what exactly goes into robust disaster planning? According to Stephen Bigelow, that’s not a question that has one definitive answer.
“Disaster planning and preparation are a critical aspect of any business plan. But there is no single approach to disaster preparedness and the emphasis on disaster response is changing,” Stephen Bigelow, senior technology editor at TechTarget, stated.
Indeed, security needs shift depending on what a certain company does. A local grocery store that’s just launched a website, for instance, will likely have different security protocols than, say, a major tech company that houses data for many patrons. Still, there are some basic security principles that should be adhered to no matter what kind of business you practice. Here are a few of the ways all companies can be prepared for the worst:
- Defend data, don’t attack specific threats: Trevor Smith, executive vice president of Brite Computers, argues for data-centric defense – that is, he encourages businesses to identify exactly what kind of data they have on their system and make sure, above all, that that information is secured with resources like layered security. Too many companies out there concern themselves with combating specific threats like the emergence of a particularly virulent malware strain. But trying to predict what kind of malware will hit your business is a futile pursuit. Instead, focus on what you can control: the security of your company data.
- Build an atmosphere of security awareness: It’s amazing how much difference devoting just a few minutes at each company meeting to security can make to the overall protection of the enterprise. When all employees – not just IT people – are on board with the idea of maintaining a secure business, the integrity and stability of that company immediately shoots up. These are the types of question businesses need to be asking themselves when refining a culture of cybersecurity: “What are your security policies? What is your stance on employees utilizing social media from managed devices? Do you allow access to company data from non-company-owned devices? Which cloud-sharing services are available for collaboration and backup?” wrote Smith.
Not taking precautionary measures can come at great cost
Among customers, there’s a significantly heightened level of anxiety surrounding store breaches. And why wouldn’t there be? After all, it seems like it’s every few days that a new breach crops up. Enterprises that experience a breach can expect to see a precipitous decline in business as a result of patron concerns. In addition, breached companies can expect to pay up beyond patron loyalty. For Home Depot, for instance, its major breach has led to the retail giant being inundated with lawsuits.
When you add all the costs of a breach together – from government actions to lawsuits to patrons’ financial claims – it becomes immediately clear that having sub-par defenses simply isn’t an option. In today’s world, a malicious intrusion has the potential to derail a previously thriving company, and why would any business want to take that kind of risk? By enacting strong defenses, no company has to. Doing things like implementing layered security isn’t hard to do and the benefits are great. For your business security needs, there’s no better choice than Faronics.