Throughout the journey of growing a prosperous business, an owner might easily fall into the trap of cutting corners on the aspects that they may feel are more frivolous than others.
Whilst it may be correct that the budget would fare better without an overly extravagant office space, or bulk-bought disposable branded swag, one area you must certainly avoid pinching pennies is when it comes to your business’ security. Here are 6 signs you need better security for your business.
The premises are practically public grounds.
Particularly if there are locations with your business that contain items of high monetary value or sensitive data, it is vital that there is no unauthorized access given under any circumstances. Consider investing in private security services to protect these valuable assets and the value of your brand. However, this solution doesn’t protect those assets alone – the safety and comfort of your staff is the company’s most valuable asset and should be the highest priority.
It’s important to limit the access of those who do not have a valid reason to be in the building. Ensure you can easily track who enters and exits through the use of staff and visitor passes. Keeping a short leash on physical access is fundamental to improving security.
Employees are disgruntled and antagonistic.
Surprisingly, one of the biggest risks to your company’s security is attacks from within. All the effort of only allowing access to authorized personnel is rendered moot if it’s the employees themselves who turn out to not be the most savory of people. Therefore, proper checks, including police checks, can be invaluable during the pre-employment and induction process.
Further, even employees with a stellar record can be driven to attempt to damage the company, through actions such as theft or leaking valuable information. Maintaining employee satisfaction is crucial to mitigate the chance that they are the ones to become the security risk.
Items and documents of value are easy to access.
If an unauthorized person were to somehow get access to the premises, it shouldn’t be an easy task for them to get their hands on anything of value, or even for them to know where to begin to look. Consider implementing a clean desk policy. This involves every employee clearing their desk at the end of each workday of any sensitive materials, including notebooks, documentation, and portable storage devices.
As mentioned above, the risk of an internal attack should always be considered as a possibility. Further security can be achieved by limiting access to equipment, documentation, and data throughout the company to only those individuals who absolutely need such access.
Your staff lacks adequate training.
When most people imagine targeted attacks levied against large companies, they imagine elite hackers or master lockpickers who are adept enough to get past the most secure of barriers. However, far more common is that even these massive companies are having their most susceptible weaknesses taken advantage of simply through social engineering.
Humans are fallible. They will perhaps always be the weakest link in your security network. However, training staff in proper protocol and teaching them about common tactics for gaining unauthorized access are the best ways to increase the chances that any such attempts are unsuccessful.
The façade is attractive to criminals.
Someone looking for a quick hit will always be searching for an easy target. Consider what the outside of the publicly accessible parts of the premises conveys to those who may be on the lookout for such a target. Do locks come across as easy to bypass? Are windows giving a clear view of valuable stock or tools? Are there messy trees and shrubbery that would provide easy hiding spots for someone looking to sneak in?
There is an inadequate amount of surveillance devices.
If your business does deal directly with customers, with them often coming on-site, then having footage to look back on is invaluable. Despite every other precaution being taken, the unfortunate fact is that customers can be unpredictable. Having security cameras, particularly in high-traffic areas, will help to protect assets by always gathering evidence for cases of theft or if an incident escalates to threats or even violence.
Cameras aren’t the only form of surveillance either. Consider recording calls or even using software to monitor and protect company data in work-from-home setups.
Whether you’re the CEO of a major company or simply of a fledgling startup, you are not immune to the whims of bad actors who might have your enterprise in their crosshairs. Every business of every size can commit bad security practices. However, once you know what to look out for, rectifying these mistakes can be simple, as well as far cheaper in the long term when compared to the potential losses that can result from neglecting to practice proper security.
