With the Easter weekend just gone, we are sure that you’ve had your fair share of egg hunts and scavenger hunts to last you all year! However, we think it is the perfect time for one more: to hunt for the weaknesses in your business.
With reports on hacks and security breaches becoming a more common occurrence, it is important now more than ever to become familiar with your business security. After all, if you’re not familiar with the systems you have in place and the vulnerabilities that you may have, how will you understand and respond to any potential threats in the future?
To help you on your hunt to find your security weaknesses, we’ve compiled some easy tips of where to start and what to look for.
1. Check Your Perimeter
There are many things to hunt for around your perimeter, starting with any deterrents. For example, do you have a sign warning any trespassers that you have CCTV? Something as simple as this is a great preventative measure, so make sure you have one in place. If you don’t have one, you can download one for free here.
Secondly, check the situation of both your interior perimeter and your exterior. Are there any gaps in your fencing? Are there any climbing aids that have appeared over time, such as overgrown trees or a skip, that someone could use to breach the fencing? Has anybody tampered with your locks? Thinking in this way can really help you become aware of any weaknesses, so make sure you know what the crime rate is in your area and check your grounds regularly.
Read: Protecting Your Land Perimeter from Intruders and Theft
2. Check Your Monitoring Systems
If you have CCTV cameras and security alarms in place, make sure to check these regularly. Something as simple as running through your CCTV at the beginning of every week could help you identify any abnormalities that may be occurring. Alarms also need to be checked fairly regularly, as you want to ensure that these preventive measures will actually work when they are supposed to.
3. Check Your Staff
Many businesses don’t like to do this as they feel that they will lose the confidence of employees, but you shouldn’t worry. The majority of staff like to have performance checks as these are goals that they can work towards, and as internal theft is almost as big an issue as external theft, these checks are necessary for the success of your business.
A few basic ways to do this is to schedule in regular spot checks as well as unexpected drop-ins. During these times you need to check that people aren’t where they shouldn’t be and that all your guards (if you have any) are alert at all times, i.e not sleeping on shift. You will naturally be able to notice if things are not right, such as if somebody was working late for no reason, so this is a simple and effective method to be aware of any security weaknesses.
4. Check Your Online Security
Cyber hacking is becoming more and more common in this digital age, so it is crucial to check your systems regularly. Do you have an efficient virus protection system? Do you have a secure method of storing all of your digital information? Effective and secure data protection is essential, so make sure you get an expert in to set everything up and review your systems frequently.
5. Check Your Audits
When was the last time you did an audit? Are you up to speed with current events? You need to make sure you do these regularly so that you know who has access to what keys and codes etc. Many business owners who are not up to date with their audits, run the risk of internal threats, as you can’t fix and improve on systems that you haven’t reviewed.
6. Check Your Employee Removal Process
This might not seem like such a big issue when you’re talking about security weaknesses but it is better to check nonetheless. You need to ensure that your employee removal process is efficient and effective, i.e be sure that they return any key cards or ID badges AND deactivate them and change any pin codes that they knew so that they can not gain access following their leave.
The most important thing about doing your own security check is to be vigilant. This, along with being up to date with all procedures, paperwork, and being aware of your suppliers and staff, will make a big difference to the running of your business. So what are you waiting for? Get hunting for any of your security weaknesses!
