Starting Your Own Business? Don't Forget Security

​Are you the entrepreneurial type? Have you considered stepping away from the corporate game and becoming your own boss? If you have, you are in excellent company! According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), there are nearly 30 million small businesses in the United States, employing nearly 48% of the US workforce. Millennials are accelerating the trend, starting their own businesses an average of 8 years earlier in their lives than Baby Boomers.

​Being your own boss is great, but while you’re making business plans, be sure to plan how you’re going to protect the privacy and personal information of your customers. And don’t think your business isn’t a target for identity thieves or hackers because it’s small. On the contrary, criminals often target small businesses because the lack of security makes them easy targets. That’s a big problem, because even small businesses have a legal obligation to protect their customers’ personal information — and losing customer trust can sink a small business fast.

​If you’re starting a business, here are the basics to protect your customers’ privacy and your financial security:

• Physical security: Keep customer paperwork out of sight and in a locked cabinet when you’re not there. Invest in a good shredder so you can dispose of old customer records and sales slips securely.
• Digital security: Install security software on all your computers, from the PC you use for accounting to the mobile device you may use to swipe credit cards. Encrypt business information on your systems, use a password manager, use multi-factor authentication wherever possible, and never share your passwords or let other people use the devices you use for business.
• Access security: Consider setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect your office computers from hackers. VPN software isn’t hard to set up and can provide a substantial boost in security over just having a Wi-Fi router in your office.
• Security practices: Educate yourself and any employees, including family members, on good privacy practices such as how to spot phishing scams that could let hackers into your computers, and keep up to date on privacy and other regulations that affect your business. Also, make sure your vendors, from your tax accountant to your website hosting service, take security seriously.

​Planning for information security is not as much fun as designing a new logo or winning your first customer, but it’s as essential to your business as setting up a bank account. A recent Verizon report found that 61% of data breaches hit smaller businesses, and 60% of those companies go out of business within 6 months after an attack. So, while you’re launching your business, don’t put customer privacy on the back burner.

​Stay informed, be on guard, and best of luck on your new venture!