Keeping your business secure is one of the primary considerations for any business owner. Knowing the best ways to protect your physical and digital assets is crucial to ensure that there are no troublesome disruptions to your business. Any company should have a good set of both physical and digital security systems that are implemented following a comprehensive risk assessment.
Once systems are in place, it is important to review them regularly to ensure they provide maximum protection. You may find that changes in technology and best practices require you to make changes more frequently than you’d think, but the effort is well worth it for the peace of mind you will enjoy.
Switch Up Passwords Regularly
Using the same passwords for multiple things, weak passwords, or easily guessable passwords are some of the critical mistakes that people make in both their business and personal lives. You should use complex, strong passwords that you change regularly and require this of your employees as well. Building a prompt into your internal computer system to remind employees to do this regularly can be invaluable.
Utilize Two-Factor Authentication
A two-factor authentication process can be invaluable to further protect your business and its operations. This works by asking employees or others logging in to provide a one-time password or biometric authentication sent to a separate secure place like a work phone or secure work email. This ensures that only the person attempting to log in is able and can prevent almost all cyber-attacks.
Train Your Employees
Employee knowledge and empowerment are critical to ensure the physical and digital safety of your business. As a business owner, you need to ensure that your team has access to the proper training that helps them protect their own private data and your business’s data. There are many training options available to help your employees understand the necessity of and best practices for digital security. You should also train them comprehensively on your own business’s physical security practices at work.
Implement A DevSecOps Program
DevSecOps is a way of including security measures in your software so that it is fully integrated throughout the development process. This is an alternative to including security systems towards the end of the development, where it can be harder to implement effectively or potentially even cause issues with the actual rollout of the software. You can find some excellent information on the benefits of DevSecOps program from the experts over at ForAllSecure.
Install A High-Quality Alarm System
One of the best things you can do for the physical security of your business is to install a high-quality alarm system. An alarm will make anyone with criminal intent think twice before attempting to enter your business premises. It can also be an excellent investment to alert you of non-criminal danger to your business, as things like flooding or fire can trigger the sensors. You should look for a local alarm fitting business that will be able to offer your business ongoing service after the initial installation.
Use Security Lighting And Cameras
Motion sensor lighting and quality security cameras are another critical features of physical safety for business premises. Cameras can keep an eye on your premises when no one is physically there or provide eyes for your security team if your premises are particularly large. Lighting will ensure that anyone monitoring the security cameras will actually be able to see what is happening in real-time.
Insure Your Premises And Inventory
There are a multitude of physical dangers that a smart business owner should protect his business against. Crime, natural disaster, or fire can all devastate a business and can also all be covered by suitable insurance. There is certain insurance that all business owners must legally take out but taking out additional cover to protect your business interests can be an incredibly smart choice. It is always best to shop around the different insurance providers to get the best deal for the greatest level of coverage.
Invest In An On-Site Safe
For high-value items stored in your office, it is always best to keep them securely. A safe in your main office could be ideal for smaller items, but for larger high-value items, it may be best to install a larger safe or even build a safe room. The combination to the safe should be known only to a trusted few and should be changed on a regular basis.
Final Thoughts
In many ways, online and offline security go hand in hand. Many businesses’ assets are tied up in a combination of ways, meaning that if one is at risk, then the other likely is as well. You should look at your business as a whole to ensure that you haven’t missed any gaps in security that could put you at risk. You should also ensure that your employees are well-trained in both physical and digital security in the workplace so that issues don’t arise due to human error.
