{"id":15245,"date":"2020-12-14T06:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T05:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/?p=15245"},"modified":"2025-05-07T20:36:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T18:36:26","slug":"priceless-data-protection-guide-for-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/priceless-data-protection-guide-for-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Priceless Data Protection Guide for Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week we talked about SCA-compliance<\/a>. Today we get into the nitty gritty of data protection for small business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brace yourself! It can be a tricky world to dive in, especially when you are a first-time business owner<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, due to the steady increase of cyber-crime over recent years, it\u2019s crucial that businesses protect themselves against the potential loss of data and money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is cybercrime?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cybercrime consists of a series of criminal activities aimed at breaching a company\u2019s computer security. The phenomenon poses a serious threat to consumers and businesses alike exposing them to multiple risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the BBC<\/a>, cyber-crime victims are losing \u00a3190,000 a day in the UK alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hacker_using_laptop_computers\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An electronic break into your system might result in the loss of financial information of your business or your customers. It might also deny service to your company website or install a virus that will monitor your future online activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybercrime doesn\u2019t threaten only big companies but it targets small businesses as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, small business owners represent the perfect prey. In the frenzy of getting their company \u201cout there\u201d, they easily forget about data protection and focus mostly on gaining traffic and attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being quite small comes with perceived omnipotence. \u201cWho\u2019s gonna come after me?\u201d, business owners might think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the reason why small companies are often way less prepared when hackers try to extract data from their information systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry, though, InvoiceBerry<\/a> has your back! Follow this guide to get all the best tips to protect your business from falling prey to cyber-crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"usb-drive-data-protection\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Backup your data<\/strong> protection efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start from the very beginning, that is the information held and received by your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business data shouldn\u2019t be kept on one device alone, be it a laptop, tablet or phone. What if it gets stolen or it breaks? What are your plans in case your information system is hacked and your data leaked?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies need to backup everything on a weekly basis; it\u2019s the best and quickest way to overcome system failures, physical damage or cybercrime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, paper copies are not an adequate option; they\u2019re too easy to damage in the event of fires or flooding, for instance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to protect your business is to create a backup and store it separately from your main devices. You could use a cloud storage service or an external hard drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never heard of the cloud or maybe just a tad confused about it? Have a read here to understand it fully.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tForewarned is Forearmed: Four Steps to Fight Risks<\/span><\/a>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt's never too late to start risk management for your small business. Be forewarned and forearmed to properly identify, assess and plan for growth.<\/span>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD MORE<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Digitalise your paper documents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you hold physical documents pertaining to your business, they need to be protected from any possible damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid losing data by digitalising and including your paper documents in your weekly backups. This way, you\u2019ll be safe against floods, fires, theft, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can use portable scanners or, if your smartphone has a good enough camera, there are plenty of apps that work as a document scanner<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be careful with sensitive information<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When sharing personal details, you need to be extremely careful. Make sure the receiving end is reliable and that you have the permission to send the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we mean by \u201cpersonal information<\/a>\u201d? It can encompass anything ranging from a name, address, health details, salary, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), \u201cpersonal data\u201d is any information from which a person can be identified or potentially identified from (surnames and nicknames included).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s worth it to invest in measures like switching to dedicated server and updating your data protection and encryption<\/a>. Really and truly you can never be too careful when it comes to protecting your data and information, in fact companies of all sizes also use online data rooms<\/a> to share sensitive documentation, for added security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"man-planning-contingencies\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plan, plan, plan and\u2026 plan some more!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The worst thing about a cybercrime emergency or any kind of damage to your systems is their abruptness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although you can\u2019t obviously schedule such an emergency, you can surely plan its potential solutions ahead of time. What will you do, for instance, if your system gets hacked?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With increased cyber-threats, utilizing tools such as IP lookup and intelligence<\/a> can help small business owners become more aware of potentially harmful traffic and protect sensitive data effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare all your employees for the worst, distribute clear tasks to everybody and make sure their emergency-related knowledge is refreshed at least once a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we get that cyber attacks sound scary, but avoid the urge to rush to set up a plan which is not well thought out just because of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take your time to lay out the business\u2019 strengths and weaknesses. Once you\u2019ve weighed all aspects, you can proceed to make a decision and create your own data protection policy (see below). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"iphone<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beef up your password game<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Carrying out transactions, sending documents and generally managing customers\u2019 data protection can be done safely by taking a preliminary measure: strong passwords. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a password strong, though? The best passwords are both complex but easy to remember. Here you can find some guidelines to set the perfect password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t:<\/p>\n\n\n\n