Securing Your Online Business. Before the advent of the internet and people going online with their businesses, it was relatively easy to store your data in a secure location. Nowadays when all of your data is out there for everyone to sniff at, alter or even delete, it becomes crucial to have some security measures in place.
How To Stay Safe Online:
There are a couple of actions you can take to secure your business, to some degree, especially when you can’t afford expensive solutions.
- Get yourself a very strong anti-virus program to protect your computers from viruses and malware and keep it up-to-date. Invest in this part because it is super important.
- Install a firewall to help you with cyber-attacks.
- Have a security policy in place and convey it periodically to your staff. No matter how small your business is, everyone should adhere and comply with the policy.
- Use the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which helps you recognize, avoid and report scams.
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/693900
- Sign up for cybersecurity alerts from Stay Smart Online at;
http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/small_and_medium_business
- Get into the habit of “thinking before clicking”.
- Use very complex password for all of your online identities.
Online Business – For your Website:
- Use one of the commercial services to scan your website on a regular basis to check for vulnerabilities in your system.
- It’s also a good way to use one of those companies to scan your system and issue a Trust Seal to assure your users that your business is a safe environment for them.
- Examples;
Online Business – Back up your Data:
Backing up your data on a regular basis is a good way to ensure that you have a contingency plan when things go wrong (e.g. your whole system is infected with a virus, a hardware failure, fire, natural disaster … etc.)
There is a couple of free software to help you:
- Apple Time Machine: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
- Crash Plan: http://www.crashplan.com/
- FBackup: http://www.fbackup.com/
- SyncBackFree: http://www.2brightsparks.com/download-syncbackfree.html
Backup your Website:
There are a couple of reasons why you should backup your website which includes but not limited to the following;
- Much of your valuable content is uploaded by your users which mean that the original development that you started with has changed over time.
- To get online quickly after a failure or you simply lose your business.
- Although it’s not a prevention system against attacks, it does help you act as a recovery plan.
How?
- Manual backups
- Using cPanel: http://www.cpanel.com/
- Cloud storage: Amazon S3, Dropbox
- Rsync backup: It is open-source so you don’t have to worry about money
- Consulting your web developer
- Find out if your web hosting service provides a backup service
Online Business – Customer Privacy
Your data is not the only thing you need to take care of as your customers’ personal information is very important and should be kept secure at all times. Be aware of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) especially when making your privacy policy available on your website.
Your feedback and participation are highly appreciated.
We wish you the best of luck with your venture.
Australia-Unwrapped Team
Review Business Startup Australia series:
Part One - Business Startup Australia – Introduction Part Two - Business Startup Australia: Getting Help and Support Part Three - Business Startup Australia: Business Structure Part Four - Business Startup Australia: Business Plan Part Five - Business Startup Australia: Obtaining Finance Part Six - Business Startup Australia: Registering Your Business Part Seven - Business Startup Australia: Registering Business Name Part Eight - Business Startup Australia: Understanding Australian Taxes Part Nine - Business Startup Australia: Home-based Business Part Ten - Business Startup Australia: Online Business Part Eleven - Business Startup Australia: Employing People Part Twelve - Business Startup Australia: Workplace Health & Safety Part Thirteen - Business Startup Australia: Online Marketing Part Fifteen - Business Startup Australia: Importing Part Sixteen - Business Startup Australia: Exportation
Main Image Source : Pixabay
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