Stay Compliant By Upping Your Cyber Security Practices
If you own or operate a business, there are plenty of things you must do to ensure success. You have to make the right hiring decisions; develop a product or service that you can sell; build relationships with clients, employees and partners; and much more. One of the biggest responsibilities that comes with owning or operating a business is ensuring that your business is compliant with any guidelines put in place by regulatory bodies.
Every business needs to make an effort to stay compliant, and a big part of that is making sure your cyber security practices are up to standards. With technology rapidly advancing and regulations changing fairly often, you have to stay up-to-date on any changes that should be made going forward. You also need to make an effort to plug any holes in your current cyber security plan.
You can do this by asking yourself a few questions and making the necessary
Every business needs to make an effort to stay compliant, and a big part of that is making sure your cyber security practices are up to standards. With technology rapidly advancing and regulations changing fairly often, you have to stay up-to-date on any changes that should be made going forward. You also need to make an effort to plug any holes in your current cyber security plan.
You can do this by asking yourself a few questions and making the necessary
adjustments if you answer no to any of the following:
• Is my business protected by a firewall and antivirus software?
• Do I use backup solutions, and do I have a disaster recovery plan in place?
• Has my storage stayed up-to-date with any technological changes?
• Do I have any content or e-mail spam filtering software?
• What data am I encrypting?
Ensuring that your business stays compliant will be extremely important in maintaining client and employee relationships. If a customer’s information gets compromised because your business did not have the necessary cyber security in place, they probably won’t come through your doors again. As technology changes and evolves, so do many of the regulations and cyber security
• Is my business protected by a firewall and antivirus software?
• Do I use backup solutions, and do I have a disaster recovery plan in place?
• Has my storage stayed up-to-date with any technological changes?
• Do I have any content or e-mail spam filtering software?
• What data am I encrypting?
Ensuring that your business stays compliant will be extremely important in maintaining client and employee relationships. If a customer’s information gets compromised because your business did not have the necessary cyber security in place, they probably won’t come through your doors again. As technology changes and evolves, so do many of the regulations and cyber security
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practices that you should put in place. It can be difficult to become compliant if your business was lacking previously. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to help ensure that your business becomes and stays compliant with any regulating bodies.
First, you should document all of the consumer data your business holds. If a customer asks what information your business has collected on them, then you should be able to give them an honest answer. You might also be obligated to share this information. By keeping and maintaining this information, you will be able to supply your customers with it if they ever do ask.
It can also help greatly to partner with a managed services provider who manages IT needs since they will be able to perform routine IT data checks and work to better protect your customer and the private information within your business.
MSPs go a long way toward helping all of your potential IT needs, but their usage when it comes to cyber security, protection and compliance should not be underestimated. Partnering with an MSP will help get your business on the fast track to becoming cyber-secure.
Another big part of ensuring that your business stays compliant is to introduce cyber security training for all of your employees. Did you know that 95% of cyber-attacks start with human error? If your team has not bought into a cyber-secure culture or does not know the proper cyber security practices, you could be in some trouble.
practices that you should put in place. It can be difficult to become compliant if your business was lacking previously. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to help ensure that your business becomes and stays compliant with any regulating bodies.
First, you should document all of the consumer data your business holds. If a customer asks what information your business has collected on them, then you should be able to give them an honest answer. You might also be obligated to share this information. By keeping and maintaining this information, you will be able to supply your customers with it if they ever do ask.
It can also help greatly to partner with a managed services provider who manages IT needs since they will be able to perform routine IT data checks and work to better protect your customer and the private information within your business.
MSPs go a long way toward helping all of your potential IT needs, but their usage when it comes to cyber security, protection and compliance should not be underestimated. Partnering with an MSP will help get your business on the fast track to becoming cyber-secure.
Another big part of ensuring that your business stays compliant is to introduce cyber security training for all of your employees. Did you know that 95% of cyber-attacks start with human error? If your team has not bought into a cyber-secure culture or does not know the proper cyber security practices, you could be in some trouble.
Make sure that cyber security training is part of your onboarding process and continue to train your employees throughout their tenure with your business.
Once your employees are aware of the risks of cyber-attacks and have bought into a cyber-secure culture, it’s time to upgrade your cyber security. One of the best things you can do for your business is to invest in regular software patching. Technology is ever-evolving, and we should make the necessary changes to ensure it continues to cooperate with our network and systems. Put technology in place to cover these holes or partner with an MSP that can help take care of any lapses in your cyber security.
Additionally, you should invest in some content-filtering software. There are plenty of toxic websites with nefarious intent that can wreak havoc on your cyber security if accessed by an employee on your network. Content filtering allows you to restrict certain websites. It also goes a step further by recognizing patterns in websites that have malicious codes and blocking those websites that might pose a risk.
Cyber security and compliance work right alongside each other. If you’re trying to ensure that your business stays compliant, you need to buff up your cyber security practices. There are many methods you can take to do this, but if you’re unsure of where to begin, give us a call. We would be glad to help you take the next steps toward creating a cyber-secure business.
"Cyber security and compliance work right alongside each other"
Do You Safeguard Your Company’s Data And Your Customers’ Private Information BETTER THAN Equifax, Yahoo and Target Did?
If the answer is “NO” – and let’s be honest, the answer is no – you are leaving yourself and your company open to massive liability, millions in fines and lost business, lawsuits, theft and so much more. Why? Because you are a hacker’s #1 target. They know you have access to financials, employee records, company data and all that juicy customer information – social security numbers, credit card numbers, birth dates, home addresses, e-mails, etc.
If the answer is “NO” – and let’s be honest, the answer is no – you are leaving yourself and your company open to massive liability, millions in fines and lost business, lawsuits, theft and so much more. Why? Because you are a hacker’s #1 target. They know you have access to financials, employee records, company data and all that juicy customer information – social security numbers, credit card numbers, birth dates, home addresses, e-mails, etc.
Don’t kid yourself. Cybercriminals and hackers will stop at NOTHING to steal your credentials. And once they have your password(s), it’s only a matter of time before they destroy your business, scare away your customers and ruin your professional and personal life.
Why Not Take 4 Seconds Now To Protect Yourself, Protect Your Company And Protect Your Customers?
Our 100% FREE and 100% confidential, exclusive Dark Web Scan is your first line of defense. To receive your FREE report, visit the link below. Hopefully it will be ALL CLEAR and you can breathe easy. If your company, your profits and your customers are AT RISK, we’ll simply dig a little deeper to make sure you’re protected.
Don’t let this happen to you, your employees and your customers. Get your free Dark Web Scan TODAY!, visit bensingerconsulting.com/dark-web-monitoring/
Why Not Take 4 Seconds Now To Protect Yourself, Protect Your Company And Protect Your Customers?
Our 100% FREE and 100% confidential, exclusive Dark Web Scan is your first line of defense. To receive your FREE report, visit the link below. Hopefully it will be ALL CLEAR and you can breathe easy. If your company, your profits and your customers are AT RISK, we’ll simply dig a little deeper to make sure you’re protected.
Don’t let this happen to you, your employees and your customers. Get your free Dark Web Scan TODAY!, visit bensingerconsulting.com/dark-web-monitoring/
10 Habits To Ensure Equality In Your Hybrid Team
Businesses across the country are switching over to hybrid work environments. If you’re in this boat, you may be wondering how to keep things fair between your remote and in-office employees. Below you’ll find 10 habits to implement that will create an equal environment for all of your employees.
Change How You Track Productivity
When you work in an office, many consider “working” to simply mean being in a work environment. If you have a hybrid team, you need to come up with a new system to track productivity. This measurement should be based on output and results.
Standardize Your Meetings
It can be awkward and frustrating for a remote employee who can’t hear or see what’s going on during a meeting due to poor camera angles or audio issues. It can help to have your entire team meet on Zoom rather than just those who are working remotely.
Use Public Channels
Use public channels like Slack or Microsoft Teams for communication between your team to ensure everyone is in the loop.
Digitize Your Resources
You need to have digital resources readily available for your remote team members because they can’t simply ask their nearest coworker or check office records for information.
Keep Remote And Office Workplaces Consistent
You may have spent a lot of money designing your workplace, but you also have remote employees who may be working in cramped spaces. Make sure your design principles extend to your remote employees. This will help so that productivity, safety, training and brand representation will all remain consistent.
Diversify Company Rituals
Many businesses focus on creating a company
Change How You Track Productivity
When you work in an office, many consider “working” to simply mean being in a work environment. If you have a hybrid team, you need to come up with a new system to track productivity. This measurement should be based on output and results.
Standardize Your Meetings
It can be awkward and frustrating for a remote employee who can’t hear or see what’s going on during a meeting due to poor camera angles or audio issues. It can help to have your entire team meet on Zoom rather than just those who are working remotely.
Use Public Channels
Use public channels like Slack or Microsoft Teams for communication between your team to ensure everyone is in the loop.
Digitize Your Resources
You need to have digital resources readily available for your remote team members because they can’t simply ask their nearest coworker or check office records for information.
Keep Remote And Office Workplaces Consistent
You may have spent a lot of money designing your workplace, but you also have remote employees who may be working in cramped spaces. Make sure your design principles extend to your remote employees. This will help so that productivity, safety, training and brand representation will all remain consistent.
Diversify Company Rituals
Many businesses focus on creating a company
culture, but this becomes difficult with remote and in-office employees. You need to make sure your company and team-building rituals include everyone.
Equal Rewards
There should not be a difference between the rewards your in-office and remote employees receive. Make sure you are acknowledging your remote employees on public channels and sending them gifts or perks since they can’t participate in team lunches.
Coordinate Team Schedules
If you have employees coming and going from the office at all hours of the day, communication can get fuzzy. Try to keep your departments’ schedules lined up so people can still use one another as resources.
Repeat Important Announcements
Your remote employees will not be in the break room hearing about everything that’s happening in the office. You need to keep them informed of any ongoing developments with the business or other major announcements.
Seek Feedback
You should always try to get feedback from your remote and in-office team members so you can make necessary adjustments. The experience needs to work for all of your employees, so feedback is critical.
By putting some of these tactics into action, your hybrid team will be working more cooperatively and efficiently than ever before.
Laurel Farrer is the president of the Remote Work Association and CEO of Distribute Consulting.
She specializes in advocating for the impact of workplace transformation on corporate and economic growth.
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