There are many things a business owner has to worry about. These concerns include things like pleasing customers and adapting to new consumer trends. However, certain factors are more dangerous to your business than others. There are plenty of bad actors out there, both online and off, that will harm your company if you don’t stay vigilant. Security should be a top priority for your business. Below are five signs your business needs better security management.
You Are Losing Inventory
If you have a brick and mortar store, security management for that building is absolutely vital. Even if you are not targeted by actual armed robbers, shoplifting eventually bleeds many businesses dry. In 2016, shoplifting cost businesses nearly $50 billion. Many more companies would still be in business today without that theft. One of the telltale signs is when your inventory control procedures pull up anomalies in regards to losing more inventory than you have actually sold during a specific period. If that is the case, you need to make immediate investments into better security management for your store. You might even need full-time security personnel to help stop the theft from happening.
Your Trade Secrets Have Been Leaked
Many other major security threats will be digital in nature. If your data and network are not secure, you will eventually run into serious issues. In fact, you may not even realize something is amiss since your computers and software may work fine. Instead, you may get indications that there was a security breach by learning that your competitors have started adopting your own trade secrets that should have only been stored in a supposedly safe location in your digital files. At that point, you need to consider investing in a comprehensive cybersecurity program. Look for one that includes a vulnerability scanner that can alert you of where possible intrusions into your network could take place.
Your Staff Is Tech Illiterate
Companies can’t always depend on their employees to protect their data and systems from harm. Unfortunately, employees are often the source of security breaches that end up costing the company. In most cases, this isn’t done maliciously. Instead, it’s simply the result of the employees’ own incompetence. Overall, you can’t expect employees to know how to uphold high standards of cybersecurity on their own in your office or elsewhere within your company. Many employees may be much more tech-illiterate than you would hope them to be. This is why employee training is one of the most important elements of any serious security management program.
Your Business Is in a High Crime Area
It can be sad to admit, but certain neighborhoods have higher crime rates than others. As such, business owners in these areas must deploy extra protection compared to those in more sleepy neighborhoods. If this is the case for you, you better have a solid plan for security management that includes a multi-pronged approach. If you don’t, your naivety will certainly be taken advantage of. Most criminals aren’t first-timers. Instead, they have a lot of experience and can tell when a business isn’t properly secured. If you don’t have a solid plan in place in a high crime area, you will probably suffer the likely consequences.
Your Tech Hasn’t Been Updated in a Long Time
Certain other factors can put you at risk of being attacked by criminals. One is whether or not your business hardware and software has been updated recently. If it’s actually very out of date, you certainly need a serious reassessment in regards to cybersecurity. People don’t only update to have the latest tech. Newer technology has also been improved to make it harder for criminals to exploit. This isn’t only the case in regards to hackers that attack from cyberspace. If your POS system, for example, is out of date, a criminal could exploit it in-person to defraud you and your customers. Overall, part of strong security management is ensuring that your technology is up to date so you do have the tools necessary to fend off modern threats.
Every serious business needs a security management plan. This is true in regards to both physical security for your facilities as well as cybersecurity to protect your data and networks. If you don’t have a plan in place, it’s almost assured that you will be targeted. Both you and your customers could become victims as a result.
