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By By William Deutsch
Think about the records, legal documents, marketing data, cash, and people found inside the walls of your business. Are you doing your best to protect them?
Here are 10 things you can do right now to secure everything from smartphones to doors. While all of these suggestions won’t apply to every company, if you work your way through this list, you’re sure to find some practical steps that you can take to protect your people and assets.
1. Secure Your Smartphone
What’s on your phone? Every time you slip that device out of its holster – even if it’s just for a quick game of Candy Crush – you’re holding a storehouse of personal information, and most likely, an access point into your company network.
We’ve gotten so addicted to those handheld devices, but, along with the added convenience and productivity, they’ve also blessed us with some heightened security risks.
2. Use Strong Passwords
A strong password policy may be inconvenient, but it’s nowhere near as inconvenient as a data breach or a network crash. Here is a simple, three-step method for creating passwords. Once you create that killer password, you’ll also find three rules for keeping it safe.
3. Control Your Keys
Do you have enforceable and up-to-date key control policies? With so much attention paid to high-tech threats, it’s easy to forget that those little metal keys can make you pretty vulnerable, too.
Think about how many doors in your facility are accessed via mechanical keys. Do your entry doors require only a key to open? What about file or server rooms? Do you have expensive inventory or supplies protected by lock and key?
Mechanical keys tell no tales. If inventory or supplies go missing, you may have no way to determine who unlocked the door.
4. Erase Your Hard Drives
Before you toss out that old computer or copy machine, make sure that you erase the hard drive completely. A trashed computer is a gold mine for identity and data thieves. And many users still do not realize that their office copier stores documents on a hard drive until the files are overwritten. So unless you take the proper steps to ensure that all data has been erased from a computer or copier before it leaves your office, you may be opening the door to a security breach.
5. Develop a Social Media Policy
Email and social networking have created their own category of security concerns. These technologies make it very simple to disseminate information. And once that information leaves your building, it can rarely, if ever, be recalled. Your email policy should address appropriate content for company emails and social media pages. Assume that nothing will stay private on the internet.
6. Install High Security Deadbolts
A deadbolt is a physical security standard for protecting exterior doors. Properly installed, a deadbolt will guard your doors against attack by even the most determined intruder. Here is a list of features to consider when Selecting A Deadbolt for your business.
7. Install an Alarm System
A modern security system, with its array of electronic components, is designed to sense, decide, and act. The security system senses events (such as motion in a room), decides if the event poses a threat, and then acts on that decision. While a security system for your business isn’t a do-it-yourself affair, you should understand the language of security in order to communicate your needs to a security professional, understand any proposals you may receive, and make the most of your security system after it is installed.
8. Use Security Cameras
Security cameras are used for two basic purposes: investigation and deterrence. The images that you collect with your security cameras will most often be used to review a crime or accident so that you can understand what really happened. But the cameras themselves also have a deterrent value since people who know they are being watched are usually on their best behavior.
In order to realize maximum investigative and deterrent value from your cameras, you need to carefully choose where you place them. Ask us where the best places to install them are.
9. Write a Visitor Management Policy
An unauthorized or unescorted visitor can be a physical threat and can also steal sensitive information. If possible, steer all visitors into a controlled entry point (a gate or receptionist’s desk, for example). When writing your policy, decide whether visitors should be escorted at all times, or only in certain areas. Requiring visitors to wear a badge and sign in and out should also be considered. If your visitor management policy is communicated clearly, employees can more easily serve as your eyes and ears as they will feel more comfortable approaching or reporting a suspicious individual.
10. Select a Floor Marshall
In a large company, it’s nearly impossible to recognize every vendor, contractor, and new employee. Not only that, but most folks will not take the initiative to question someone they do not recognize. Intruders know this, and exploiting a lax or non-existent Visitor Management Policy is one way that they can gain access to a facility, steal information or property, or cause physical harm. Assigning a Floor Marshall is a simple and effective way to help protect your business against such intruders.