Nibletz Staff
It’s not just the market that startups have to fear: it’s crime too. And with businesses being the target of about 20 percent of total crime in the country, it’s a serious threat. According to estimates, offenses by the general public cost businesses in the region of $120 billion a year, representing a significant drag on their bottom line. So what can your business do about it?
Secure Your Equipment
When thieves target your business, they’re not after everything you own. Usually, they just want the high-value items. Your office desks and chairs are probably safe, but your electronics (and other portable devices that can be easily wiped and sold) will be on their target list. The best strategy to protect your equipment is to use tagging and record any serial numbers in a central database. For other large valuable equipment, consider fixing it to the walls or the floor using non-standard bolts so that it is difficult for criminals to find the right tools to release it.
Protect Your Data
Your data is a target too. If your company collects valuable information about customers or has a proprietary database that other companies might want, then thieves will target these so that they can pass them onto other people. Plus, even if your data is specific to your firm, you could suffer a ransomware attack where thieves demand money for the release of your data.
Protecting data well isn’t an easy task and will probably require the assistance of external professionals. However, there are things that you can do right now to up your game. Try compartmentalizing your network so that individual members of staff can only access areas on an “as needed” basis. This will help to minimize risk because even if a criminal gets access to one person’s account, they can’t then use that to collect files from the rest of the system.
Use Vandalism Countermeasures
Vandalism can represent a serious cost to businesses in some neighborhoods. Even in wealthier districts, vandals can still strike during protests and riots. Because of this, it’s worth using anti-vandal paint wherever possible and graffiti film for windows. These measures dramatically reduce the cost of vandalism by providing a cheap and easily-replaced protective layer between the vandals and your property.
Conduct Regular Security Audits
Security isn’t a fixed parameter: it’s something that changes from day to day, week to week. To begin with, your employees might be following your security protocols, but over time, they may get lazy and decide that they are no longer important. What’s more, the criminals themselves will change tactics in response to your countermeasures. Startupdonut recommends that businesses conduct an internal audit of their security measures at least once a year and train their staff on how to protect their business, what to look out for and how to recognize potential criminal activity.
Prevent Employee Theft
Employee theft is a serious issue for many companies. It’s a good idea to conduct background checks on every new person you consider hiring and potentially to do on a yearly basis with your current employee base. You never know what might have happened in a persons life that will alter their focus or moral standards.
