VEGA
Theft from Business: Dealing with Consequences
Every business owner would like to believe that his business is safe from the perils associated with computer hacking. Unfortunately, there are many UK business owners who find out otherwise, and they do so the hard way. Nobody is immune from a computer and data security breach. If it does occur, you must be prepared to deal with the consequences. One step to take is to check the credit of your business. Credit checks will reveal major security issues. They will tell you about unwarranted purchases or suspicious inquiries made on behalf of your company without your consent. Here are some additional ways to handle the aftermath of a data breach.
If a data theft occurs with your business, then you need to inform the bank. Employee account information might have been compromised during the breach of security. It’s important to have a reimbursement plan in place so that you can gibe all of the employees their lost salaries. Once you have done this, you need to make sure that further steps are taken. Check all foreign sales and interactions with new clients. Many of the computer breaches originate in other countries because this helps to mask the perpetrators. If you discover something that is not right, then you need to cut off all communications with that client. Notify the authorities as soon as possible.
One of the most important steps is prevention. The only way to prevent future hacks from occurring, is to hire an IT person to locate the weak areas of your previous security measures. This might take some time, but it is worth it if you wish to keep your business up and running. Another great preventive measure is to notify the media. Some business owners are reluctant to do this because they think that it reflects poorly on them. The reality is that not reporting it actually does more harm than good. Many businesses suffer from data breaches, so it is nothing to be ashamed of. Your networking partners will appreciate the fact that you took steps to prevent the same thing from happening to their businesses.