You’ve seen the news. Equifax, Target, Home Depot, and many other big names have been the victim of data breaches over the years. In reality, their customers have been the victims, but those businesses have been in the news and had to answer tough questions. If you think you’re safe from that kind of breach because you’re a small business, think again. 31% of cyber attacks impact businesses with less than 250 employees, and some of those businesses have fewer than 100 employees.
With data breaches and identity theft running rampant, keeping your employee’s data secure is more important than ever. We’ve got some tips to help you avoid the fallout of a major data breach.
Create a Security Policy
If you’ve never heard of a security policy, you’re not alone. It’s not as common as an employee policy handbook, but it should be. This is a document that discusses how all aspects of your company’s data and information should be handled to keep it as secure as possible.
- Payment information
- Data and information storage
- Password best practices
- Document storage and destruction
- Viruses and phishing schemes
- Backing up information
Once you have a security policy, every employee needs to have a copy and be trained on it. After that, you’ll need to monitor everyone to make sure it’s followed.
Backup Your Data
In a data breach, it’s not uncommon for data to be lost. By backing it up, you have access to it later. You also have access to an earlier version of your current data in case there are questions. It would be bad enough to have your employee’s data stolen but to have to enter it all back in during the recovery process would waste time you need to focus on other important matters.
Upgrade Your Firewall
If you don’t know what a firewall is, you probably need to get one — and spare no expense. This isn’t the time to nickel and dime yourself. A firewall is the security system for your computer network. It monitors who’s trying to access your data and protects it from whatever might try to cause a data breach. Think of it as a barrier between your internal network (your computers and digital files) and the external network (the internet).
Get a Cyber Liability Insurance Policy
You can do everything in your power not to be a victim of a cyberattack, and it can still happen anyway. 60% of small businesses fail within six months of an attack. Why? Because it’s extremely expensive to deal with. Large companies spend a fraction of their revenue on notifying customers and dealing with the fallout. Small companies don’t have that luxury. With a cyber liability insurance policy, you’ll have help without having to bankrupt your business.
Hire a Payroll Service
The easiest way to protect your employees’ information is to use a service that already has the necessary security protocols in place. Payroll services don’t just make sure your employees get paid on time or that you’re payroll taxes are handled correctly. They have all of the tools in place to keep your information safe.
Want to take one more task and worry off your plate? Work with Charlotte Payroll to pay your employees and protect their data at the same time. Contact us today at 704-887-5511 for more information.
