Digital security is urgent for all businesses today. With staggering cybercrime statistics reaching millions per year and a shocking 236.1 million ransomware attacks reported in the first half of 2022 alone, the need for robust defenses has never been more pressing. Businesses must act swiftly to protect themselves and their customers from exploitation and becoming victims of cybercrimes.
While there are indeed more obvious cybersecurity measures, it’s crucial not to overlook any aspect, no matter how simple it might seem or how standard the advice is. Any area of your business that is not adequately secured could be a potential vulnerability. It’s important to be aware of these potential gaps, eliminate them, and provide the ultimate safe experience for everyone involved.
Payments
Your payments must be protected by digital security methods and kept separate. You need to use secure portals for your payment processes or integrate security options for handling in-house payments so that criminals do not leak, expose, or access details. This means you need to consider options like a payment API for developers when creating your payment portal on your website, if you handle payments on your site. If you’re using a third-party service, check the security options your payment gateway uses. You are given this option, as you won’t be personally responsible for collecting and holding payment information, the third-party provider will. The more you know about your payment security, the easier it will be to understand if everything is covered and if you are putting any cutovers at risk.
Employees
Never underestimate the risk that untrained employees can pose in relation to data security and protection within your organization. Untrained employees or those unaware of the risks unknowingly put people and your business at risk. You need to include security training as standard (such as not discussing sensitive details within earshot of others or not using unsecured networks for company activities) whether it’s in person within a company, or you need them to be aware of digital issues, i.e., using unsecured networks for company activities or clicking links in email, for example. The more they know and understand how they could be the weakest link, the easier it will be to secure their defenses and eliminate risks.
Third-Party or Vendor Risk
You might not have considered the security of those you partner with. For example, it might be your outsourcing company or the suppliers you use. If their defenses are not as robust as they should or need to be, they also risk your business. Cybercriminals can gain access to your business via third parties who aren’t securing their data or have experienced breaches.
Whether it’s your payment processor, raw materials supplier, or delivery partners, check their security details and ask what products they have in place. Ensure that these meet your standards to continue working with them, so you can rest assured that there is no additional risk to anyone.
Waste
Waste can refer to physical waste within your business or to any type of waste. Even the small act of employees using their own devices to access business details and sending this information to waste files can be a massive risk if their devices get hacked. The waste files haven’t been cleared correctly or encrypted. Look at all areas of your company that produce waste and the security risk it poses to your business, so you can eliminate this aspect that could threaten your business and put people at risk.
Shredding documents, eliminating data, and eliminating otol on paper, for example, not printing out sensitive data, not using personal devices, not using public waste disposal methods, and sticking to secure verified processes can allow you to cover your tracks at every step of operations so you can be as secure as you need to be.
Security within small businesses isn’t a small task. The more customers you have, the more data you hold, and the more employees you have, the greater the risk. This is especially true for businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees, who are increasingly targeted by threat actors determined to gain access to data, regardless of its type or value. The aim is to cause disruption, and they do this via onslaughts of attacks that are seemingly relentless in multiple ways. These areas can often be overlooked. If you focus on them for data protection, you can put more effective controls and measures in place.
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