Here’s a question that all business owners need to ask themselves: Is my business’s information and data safe online?

Most enterprises have gone digital or have realised the power of digital marketing. However, along with establishing an online presence—whether strong or not—comes the risk of encountering a breach in data security.

To better ensure that you and your business’s reputation is protected and your business’s operations run seamlessly, it is important to know how to deal with cyber security risks. With the help of advisers and experts—from IT specialists to virtual CFOs to everybody else in your staff—you must develop a set of information security strategies that can protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of your data.

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to identify which steps are to be taken to ensure your business’s security needs are completely covered. It is also important that you meet with your team to discuss their issues with compromised client data, systems breaches and attacks on the business and brand. Going through all these will enable you to develop a strategy that is perfectly suitable for your business’s unique situation.

It is important to understand that the size, industry or location of a business does not determine whether or not you need to prioritise information security. Information security is a top priority, regardless of any other circumstance. However, prioritising security does not merely mean upgrading tools and platforms managed by your IT teams.

Security in the digital world is no longer just a technical problem; it is a business issue that requires you to develop a systematic process that your whole team will have to follow. The best way to go about this is to devise a digital risk and security program.

Here are a few steps towards ensuring your business lessens—and eventually, completely eradicates—the risk of online security breach:

AVOID:

• Emailing encrypted data
• Storing unencrypted data on mobile devices
• Accessing sensitive and confidential business data on home computers
• Re-using and sharing passwords
• Being careless when it comes to accessing and sharing data and information online

TRY:

• Accepting that data security is a real business problem and not just an IT problem
• Training your team on data security and responding to data and security breaches
• Staying up-to-date when it comes to new ways to strengthen your data security strategies
• Creating a comprehensive and workable business plan—this includes a digital risk and security program

There are many other ways you can avoid putting your business’s information and data at risk online. However, the most important step is for you to understand that this is not just a simple obstacle. Information and security breach is a serious business problem that needs systematic strategies and specialised solutions.

Having a lousy digital risk and security program is not a risk your business can ever afford to take. Ensure your business is protected and managed well at all times. Take our TRUST Assessment to check how your business is doing. You can also contact myCEO’s team of experts and professionals to discuss all your digital marketing and security queries and concerns.