We can get somewhat paranoid when it comes to looking after our business, and we may think that there are thieves everywhere! But there are any things that you should have close to your chest, while something like your marketing does require a lot of sharing of information, especially with external marketing companies, there are some aspects that you need to make sure that they are so closely guarded, that the potential for outside threat is minimal. So, this may naturally spur you on to think about how to physically protect your business. Other people think about protecting their business by having sufficient cloud computing software in place, or anti-virus programs, how can you physically protect your business? It’s this that people don’t really think about until it’s too late. Of course, if you don’t have adequate physical protection, this means that someone can walk in off the street and steal your servers. Now, that anti-virus program isn’t much use now is it? So, let’s look at various ways to physically protect your business, in the technical sense as well as the physical sense.

Protecting Employees’ Smartphones

Every time we take them out of our pockets, we are exposing ourselves to theft. If our smartphones aren’t protected, this means that this device that we rely so much upon is going to have reams of professional data that’s rife for stealing. The solution? There is only so much you can do with someone’s personal device, because they are unlikely to relinquish it. And it’s unfair to ask them to hand in their device as soon as they step in through the door in the morning, so, the best approach is to communicate the importance of resilience and being aware of the environment they use their devices. In addition to this, a basic security lock is always handy to put on smartphones, and now with facial recognition and fingerprint software, it’s made it a lot easier to prevent data being stolen. We don’t think much about the security of personal data on our smartphones, so let’s step it up a gear.

Protecting The Business Premises

Securing your business premises is vital, especially if you have lots of physical information stored on servers, hard drives, or even in traditional paper form. If you have servers, security protocols need to be in place to make sure that only authorize people can access the server. Installing a security system that can be accessed by key fob is usually advisable, but for lots of companies who don’t have the finances, deadbolts are a good option. They are sturdy, cheap, and do the job. As far as external protection is concerned, there are a handful of vital security measures to put in place. Depending on the type of operation you are running, you could benefit from sheer physical obstructions, such as industrial swing gates and sliding gates that are remote operated, but also you need to think about the alarm system and security system. The majority of modern security systems have various components to protect your business adequately, such as motion sensors, but even though these all-encompassing methods can provide peace of mind, you need to get a professional opinion from a security specialist. While you should install an alarm system, there are other aspects to consider, such as the electronic hardware that is going to perform each individual security function. Security cameras have a major deterrent value, even if they aren’t turned on! Some businesses who are strapped for cash can use the fake security camera products on sale, which certainly helps as far as deterrents are concerned, but you should look at protecting your business properly with a fully functioning collection of security cameras. As far as installing your security cameras, there are some prime locations to place them. The entrance and exits are the obvious places, but also where any transactions occur, such as in a store; the key target areas, so if you had valuables, this is where you should set up a security camera; you should also consider the secluded areas, because this will be your fail safe if any perpetrators considered committing a criminal act on your premises.

Communication Of Best Practices

Physical protection of your company isn’t just about the right devices, but also it’s about how you communicate these security methods to your employees. So, this would consist of strict policies. One of the big things we all have to think about now, because we use the internet so freely, is a social media policy. The big problem we have is that if information leaves your building, either via email or social media, it’s very difficult to recall. So, by addressing strict rules and practices for how social media and emails should be used, this will go some way to protect your company. In addition to this, there should always be a visitor management policy. If you have unauthorized visitors, they can be physical threats to the company, especially if they steal information of a sensitive nature. So, think about having a controlled entry points, such as a security gate, and when drafting your policy you need to decide whether visitors should be escorted throughout the whole of the property, or only in certain departments. As well as these methods, the ways of managing data should be communicated to your staff members. In the UK, the data protection act is something that is taught to all employees, and this is about how to handle sensitive data. If we communicate to our staff good working practices, this leaves very little room for human error. Granted, it’s not always going to mean in a fully protected business, but if your staff know exactly what to do in event of a security breach, this means that everyone is able to deal with the situation better.

Physical protection is an essential that we can neglect, especially when security measures like BYOD are concerned, and there are various concerns about malware and data breaches, but your physical security methods should be treated with the same level of care as your device protection methods.