Top tips for keeping your business safe from criminals

As a business owner, it is your duty to always keep your business safe. It is often said that an entrepreneur’s company resembles their baby, and in no sense is this truer than when it comes to corporate security. You need to treat your organisation like your very own child – protecting it, nurturing it, and ensuring that it stays out of harm’s way at all costs. 

The reason why this is important is self-explanatory. If your security is lax, then criminals can steal your most valuable assets, whether physical objects or data from an online account. This can quickly lead to horrible consequences, such as bankruptcy, brand damage, customer mistrust, a drop in market share, or all of the above. Worst of all, though, you are putting your staff members in the firing line. If you have an office block and it has next to no security measures, then you could be leaving your employees open to having their personal possessions stolen, private data being shared, being physically harmed during a break-in, or feeling unsafe at their desks. 

This is no way to run a business, which is why you need to find the most appropriate ways to keep your company safe from criminals as soon as possible.

This is what you need to know:

Hire a security team

When it comes to securing your business, you need to think pragmatically. If you run a bricks and mortar business, then your security requirements are going to be drastically different compared to what an online business needs to do. As a result, there is no one size fits all advice when it comes to improving your security infrastructure. You need to analyse the particular weak points of your business and work from there to find the right solution.

For instance, if you own physical premises and house a lot of valuable assets inside it, then you might want to consider a security firm like Taybar in Birmingham. This way, you will always have a physical security firm on-site, protecting your business and leaving you with one less headache to have to worry about.

Take data protection seriously

Another crucial aspect of corporate security that you need to be acutely aware of is data protection. In this day and age, data is treated more highly than gold bullion. It can be used to extrapolate vast amounts of information about markets, business models, and brand positioning – all vital for the continued prosperity of your firm.

What’s more, private data is just that – private. It likely contains sensitive information about you, your staff, your customers, and your contractors. If this information was to fall into the wrong hands, it could compromise all of these individuals. Naturally, you don’t want to allow this to happen because it could sink your business overnight.

Think how little trust any current or future customers would have in your firm if you lost private information. It would demonstrate negligence in your abilities as a business owner and a lack of respect for your customers and staff.

Therefore, take data protection seriously. Use a proven data storage method like cloud storage to keep information safe from attackers but accessible to those who need it.

Train your staff to adhere to security best practices

Of course, security doesn’t just come down to your own efforts; your team has to do their part too. If you have a team that has no idea how to adhere to basic security best practices (such as setting strong passwords, locking up after closing a physical location, or keeping sensitive business information to themselves), then you are almost certain to be compromised at some point.

Therefore, train your staff on key security best practices that they will find easy to include in their daily routine. This will lower the chances of an insider threat from occurring and lower your own workload in the process.

Use CCTV on site

If you own physical premises, then CCTV is going to be a must. While you might not like the idea of constant surveillance, it is imperative for the continued security of your business.

The most obvious reason why CCTV is vitally important is because it helps you monitor the comings and goings of the building, perhaps through your personnel doors. If something looks suspicious, you can instantly action a response or double down on your security efforts.

Secondly, it enables you to gather evidence against wrongdoing if you suspect it. This protects you in a court of law and helps you bring criminals to justice.