When security takes a back seat to turning a fast profit, you’re taking a gamble and could potentially lose it all. Any business can become the victim of a cyberattack or security breach without the proper plans and policies in place to help combat identity theft and related fraud.
Don’t shut down your startup; remember to avoid the following mistakes – they have the potential to put you out of business:
- Making Security a Low Priority
When you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you believe that security policies can wait until your startup has grown, then you are ignoring the fact that hackers are attacking small business websites with increasing frequency and sophistication. For those dealing with transactions involving credit cards, debit cards and/or electronic fund transfers, breach protection is a must. It is the responsibility of every card accepting merchant to achieve and maintain PCI compliance. It is imperative to provide policies and technology to guard your business and customers from the devastating losses that follow a security breach – which may include acts of fraud and stolen identities.
- Neglecting to Update Passwords
Implementing strong passwords is the easiest thing you can do to strengthen the data security at your startup. The industry standard recommendation is to change your password every 90 days, or more frequently for highly sensitive data.
- Not Implementing SSL at the Start
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is easily setup from day one. It should be enabled by default in every website. It reassures your users and upgrades the security level of your communications. TSL/SSL secures e-commerce transactions and numerous applications. It has proven to be a flexible security solution, providing assistance to authentication, encryption and data integrity through the use of digital certificates.
- Failing to Educate Your Employees
Make sure your employees understand how important your company data is, and ensure they take all the necessary measures to protect it. Teach your employees about safe online habits and proactive defensive actions.
- Allowing Too Many Employees Access
It is important to determine who will receive access to secure information stored in your business database. The more sensitive the information the more critical it is for you to limit the scope and number of employees who may gain access.
- Allowing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to Compromise Security
When processing credit card payments or in handling other personal sensitive information, you must protect your customers, your organizations, and your clients information. Accessing information on personal laptops and mobile devices increases risk of data leakage, exploits vulnerabilities, and can add to greater risk of security breaches from lost or stolen devices.
- Disregarding Security Best-Practices
At a minimum, your company should establish data security policies that include guidelines for file sharing. You must carefully vet the security and encryption practices when it comes to sharing business data, with a clear understanding of where data is stored, if it’s encrypted and ultimately, who has the keys to the data. Also, keep current documentation of the latest security practices.
- Neglecting Two-Factor Authentication
Adding a second layer of protection on sensitive information stored in web-based software is prudent, as password breaches are becoming increasingly more common. Two-factor authentication is the system that sends your mobile phone a text message with a code to be entered upon logging into a new website or software. It is a simple, yet secure factor that should not be overlooked.
- Not Having Cloud Storage Policies
Failing to lock down Cloud Storage services, such as Google Drive and Dropbox, leaves them vulnerable to ransomware, viruses, and unauthorized access. In order to safely enable your team with secure document storage and speedy document sharing — backups, anti-virus, password, email attachment and access policies must be set up. If ignored, you may be at risk with just a single user that could cause trouble for a whole company.
You will greatly reduce the risk of experiencing any potentially devastating consequences from a security breach by avoiding these common security mistakes.
