Start-up businesses in Newcastle are great at getting enthusiastic about their future and being in a rush to get their plans in place. However, one of the last things on their mind is often around the security of their company data.
It is crucial that new businesses make an effort to protect any sensitive material such as employee files and customer information, as well as their own financial data and intellectual property. Making mistakes about overlooking their security can be very expensive and hard to put right.
Cyber criminals have a habit of targeting new start-ups simply because many of them don’t have the experience in business that more established companies have. It doesn’t matter where they are based, from London to Newcastle to Rome – your business can be a target. Most new businesses tend to have far fewer security measures in place, making it much easier and quicker to hack for valuable information.
Lets take a look at 3 ways to make your new start-up more secure:
1. Create a Security Plan.
Formulating a first-line security plan for your business is one of the very first things you should do before starting your company. Define who within your company will have access to sensitive data and create a company policy that your employee’s can use as a guide over access and use of data.
Simply making all mobile devices password protected that can access company data, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, will make it easier to manage access. Make it a policy to change login and password details at least once in a six month period across all connected devices. This means that any employees leaving your service that had previously accessed your company data through a personal device will no longer be able to do so.
Make sure new security policies are put in place and are enforced and updated as your business grows.
2. Store only what you need.
Under the Data Protection Act, you will be responsible for protecting the customer data that you collect. This being the case, it only makes sense to collect what customer date that you need and plan to use, be that a single payment method and a shipping address. The less information that you gather, the less you will risk losing should you be hacked.
3. Protect your hard copy too.
Any new start-up may dream about being a completely paper-free business, but the reality is that even the greenest of offices still have a certain amount of paper-based files and paperwork at their core. This is still sensitive information that could prove valuable to hackers, so will need to be properly secured too. With paper and file copies, there is no fire-wall to protect them. Good old-fashioned, strong and secure filing cabinets, lockable cupboards and safes are the best barrier toward protecting sensitive data from would-be thieves.
The best way to ensure your central office, or even your home office if you run your business from home, is to call in locksmiths in Newcastle who are close to your central office. They can inspect your premises and draw up a sound security plan to help protect your sensitive physical data from theft. They can also be quickly called out to secure your building after a break-in that can leave your premises vulnerable.
