When you are trying to run a modern company, it is important to do as much as you can to enhance the safety and security of the business. There are loads of things you can do that are going to help you make the most of this right now. The better you can protect your business the more important it is for you to be able to grow and develop as a brand, and there are plenty of ways of doing this.
You need to make sure you do as much as possible to think about how you can get this right, and there are loads of amazing ideas that will help enhance business security. One of the best things you can do is to focus on how your company is run in the safest and most appealing way. Here are some of the ways of improving business security and helping the company thrive and grow.
CCTV
Most modern businesses would do well to have some form of CCTV, and this is even more important if your company has premises where equipment and machinery is stored. This is something you’re going to want to protect, and you need to try to make the most of this right now. Come up with the best ideas that can play a role in helping you look after your business, and it’s pretty clear that CCTV is one of the best ways of being able to do this. Think about what it takes to work on this right now, and there are a lot of factors that play a role in helping your company improve its security.
Keycards
You have to try to make the most of doing as much as you can to take things to the next level. It is so important to integrate some sort of digital security procedures in order to make your business a bit safer and more secure. One of the best ways of being able to achieve this would be through an easy-to-use, on-site identity badge printer that can be used to create ID so that you know who is coming and going from the business, as well as being able to integrate keycards for entry and exit.
Cybersecurity
It is important to make sure you do as much as you can to look after the future and integrity of the business, and one of the best ways of doing this is to make sure you focus on cybersecurity, There are so many ideas that you need to work on that are going to allow you to focus on getting this right moving forward. Try to come up with some of the best ways of implementing cybersecurity in the business, and this is something you need to focus on right now.
Coming up with some of the best ideas to help you take your business security to the next level is really important because it is a great way of making everything easier for your business. There are a lot of factors that play a part in this, and you have to make sure you think carefully about the best ways of being able to improve your business security in the right sort of way.
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Every 39 seconds, there is a new cybersecurity attack. On any given day, there are around 80,000 cybersecurity attacks worldwide, equating to about 30 million attacks per year.
If you think your business is immune to cybersecurity threats, you’re wrong. Luckily, there’s a lot that you can do to protect your business from a cybersecurity attack.
Check out this guide to discover how to protect your business from cyberthreats.
1. Use Secure Passwords
A lot of times, cybersecurity attacks happen because of poorly chosen passwords. Creating a strong password is one of the easiest things you can do to prevent a breach in your system.
For a password to be strong it should:
Contain letters, numbers, and special characters
Be 8 to 15 characters long
Never be written down or stored in a nearby device
Updated frequently
Never contain personal information (Ie, birthdays, family member names, etc)
Make sure all of your employees know how to create a good password, and encourage them to change their passwords every 90 days or so.
2. Install Anti-Malware and Anti-Spyware Software
Installing anti-malware and anti-spyware software is another simple thing you can do to protect your business from cyberthreats.
When researching different software options, make sure you look for one that can run a full system scan on your computers. Also, you want to choose software that automatically updates itself and quarantines and removes malware and spyware.
While you may be tempted to purchase anti-virus software that comes with anti-malware and anti-spyware capabilities, it’s important to understand that a single piece of software is incapable of scanning and removing everything.
A multi-layered approach is the best way to secure your computer system.
3. Install Anti-Virus Software
In addition to installing anti-malware and anti-spyware software, you should also install anti-virus software.
This type of software continuously scans for viruses that are trying to break into your system files, emails, and operating systems. Just like quality anti-malware/spyware software, quality anti-virus software will run periodic updates.
When choosing an ant-virus software program, make sure you look for one that has daily-anti virus updates and a good reputation. You also want to double-check that the software program is compatible with your computer.
4. Use Email and the Internet With Caution
If your business does a lot of communication with email, then you especially want to be careful about what emails you open. While hackers can exploit an email in a variety of different ways, one of the most common things they do hide viruses in attachments.
If you receive an email from an address that you don’t recognize, don’t open it. Instead, delete it from your inbox immediately and add the address to your spam list.
You also need to take extra caution when using the internet, as even the safest websites can contain malware and spyware. One common way hackers lure internet users is by creating a fake website that looks just like a real website.
When entering a website URL, make sure to double-check the name of the website and make sure you’re spelling it correctly. Also, you should avoid clicking on graphics, popups, ads, and links to other websites.
5. Secure Your Wifi Network
Securing your Wifi network is another simple thing you can do to protect your business from cyberthreats.
If you leave your Wifi networks open, you’re giving hackers an open door to infiltrate your network and access your private information. So, make sure all of your business’ Wifi networks are private.
If you have a brick and mortar business that is frequented by customers, you should also create two Wifi networks: one for your business and one for your customers. This way, you don’t have to worry about your Wifi password getting into the wrong hands.
6. Backup Important Business Data
No matter how many steps you take to protect your business from a cybersecurity threat, cybersecurity breaches can still happen. Therefore, it’s important that you prepare your business for the worst-case scenario.
You should back up all of your critical business data and information. This way, if there is a cybersecurity breach, your business flow won’t be interrupted and your bottom line won’t be affected.
7. Train Your Employees On the Best Cybersecurity Practices
Knowing all of these cybersecurity protection tactics won’t do you any good if your employees don’t know them as well. As we mentioned earlier in the article, your employees should know how to choose a strong password and how often to change it.
But, the education shouldn’t stop there. You should also educate your employees on how to protect their data, set up a firewall, and how to recognize a security breach.
The reality is that most cybersecurity breaches are the result of human error, and all it takes is one mistake from an uninformed employee to compromise your business. While you can take on the cybersecurity training yourself, we recommend bringing in experts to help you, as they’ll be the most informed on the latest strategies and threats.
8. Conduct Penetration Testing
Last but not least, your business should conduct penetration testing on your computer systems.
Penetration testing involves simulating a cybersecurity attack in order to check for vulnerabilities in your computer system. Penetration testing comes with many benefits, including:
Detecting and avoiding security threats
Protecting customer loyalty and your company image
Evading penalties associated with breaches
To conduct penetration testing, make sure you work with a reputable company.
Are You Ready to Protect Your Business Against Cyberthreats?
Now that you’ve read this guide, it’s time to put these tips into action so you can protect your business against cyberthreats. Pretty soon, your business will be more secured than ever before.
Be sure to check back in with our blog for more cybersecurity-related tips and tricks.
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Microsoft’s Office 365 is often targeted by scammers and cybercriminals. This is a major problem, as Office 365 is one of the most widely used software suites by businesses around the world – undoubtedly part of the reason that it is so often under attack.
Despite the fact that the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has made a concerted effort to implore system admins to implement stronger cybersecurity practice, Office 365 is still exceptionally vulnerable. In fact, there is damning evidence from Microsoft itself about the security practice of its users.
Through a security dashboard available to Office 365 administrators, users are given a ‘security score’ to indicate the strength of their defences and security processes. The maximum score is 707, and yet the average Office 365 score is just 37.
Businesses using Office 365 need to ensure that they are taking their cybersecurity extremely seriously. One of the most important ways of doing this is to provide your employees with as much information on the types of attacks they can face as possible. Some of the most common scams are phishing schemes – and these can take many forms.
Some of the Office 365 scams to look out for
Cybercriminals use a wide variety of tricks in attempting to compromise users – this can involve impersonating Microsoft or other well-known businesses. While there is an almost unlimited variation in the types of scams, some of the most widely seen include the following
Fake meeting requests – this type of phishing scam sends messages that spoof the name and email address of a senior executive and asks the users to reschedule a meeting, by taking part in a poll to choose the new date and time. When a user clicks on the link, they are presented with what appears to be an Office 365 login page but it is in fact a phishing site.
Employee pay rises – this scam uses the bait of a pay rise to convince employees to give up their Office 365 login credentials. The email contains a link to an apparent spreadsheet containing details of an employee salary increase – however, the link takes the user to a phishing site that looks like the Office 365 login page. This scam is especially effective because the login page displays the user’s email address prominently.
Voicemail scams – this scam makes use of a genuine audio recording that requests employees allow Microsoft access to their Office 365 account, along with an almost identical login page that actually harvests the victim’s details.
Content scams – it is also possible for criminals to utilise Microsoft Sway – a genuine presentation software – to create a spoofed site. This looks genuine and even experienced and knowledgeable users have been tricked into entering their details. The fact that the phishing email contains a link to a genuine Microsoft product makes it very difficult to spot this form of cybercrime.
Conversation hijacking – this scam sees phishers infiltrate a genuine email account using previously compromised credentials, and then insert themselves into a conversion – essentially taking on the persona of the account that they have gained access to. When another employee gets an email from this ‘trusted’ colleague, they will happily click on the links they contain, which takes them through to a spoofed site.
Admins are targeted too
It is not just general employees who are targeted with phishing scams. IT administrators are singled out by cybercriminals, as their accounts typically have greater privileges and access to more company data. With access to an admin account, criminals can carry out extremely effective attacks against other members of the organisation by creating new accounts.
Administrators in Office 365 typically have access to all of the email accounts on the domain, which may allow cybercriminals to take over those accounts or retrieve emails from them.
How to improve your Office 365 security
Of course, improving employee knowledge is a vital way to reduce the effectiveness of phishing attacks. But it is also important to take a multi-layered approach to Office 365 security and put additional defences in place in order to mitigate the potential damage of an attack.
There are various steps that businesses can take such as enforce multi-factor authentication as a part of account access, as well as ensuring that administrators have a separate account for day-to-day access and only use the admin account when necessary.
It is almost important to invest in proactive monitoring of your network in order to detect any malware or unusual activity. The earlier that any suspicious activity is detected, the sooner it can be acted upon. This reduces the window of opportunity for a cybercriminal to achieve his or her intended goal.
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The marijuana industry is coming of age. Recreational use is legal in 12 states, while some medicinal form of cannabis is legal in 33 states plus the District of Columbia. From growing the plants to packaging the final product, there are many steps along the way where things can go wrong. Every business owner needs an emergency plan. An excellent way to start is by having the right types of insurance for their company. And a marijuana entrepreneur is no exception. There are four types of insurance necessary to protect the hefty investment in cannabis operations when problems crop up. These are product liability, general liability, crop, and cyber insurance.
How Easy Is It To Find Marijuana Insurance?
Not all insurance companies sell policies to marijuana dispensaries, retail stores, and landlords who house marijuana-related businesses or grow operations. Many insurance for cannabis companies find it too risky since marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Coverage limits are often low since reinsurers are challenging to find. Carriers typically prefer to work with agencies well-schooled in the laws and operations used within the rapidly growing cannabis businesses.
However, the industry is rapidly growing. With $8 billion in legal sales in 2017 and an estimated $42 billion in illegal sales that same year, insurance companies expect continued increases in the legal market as more states change their laws. The market demands coverage and more insurance companies interested in entering the market. To sum up, it is possible to find insurance policies, but the agency selling the insurance should be well-versed in the unique needs of marijuana businesses and ready to do a proper assessment.
Marijuana Product Liability Insurance
A business must make sure that the product they sell or manufacture is safe for consumers. Unfortunately, even in the best-run system, faulty merchandise may be sold. If a customer is injured by any of the products sold or dispensed, it may be held responsible for that injury. This type of insurance protects the business from potentially ruinous costs. It is particularly crucial if edible products are made onsite and sold. Food poisoning is a potential claim.
Remember that product liability insurance will not cover any work-related injuries suffered by employees involved in the sale or manufacture of goods. It’s important to note that any labels affixed to marijuana or related products must list any warnings. Failing to appropriately label can lead to a claim if an injury happened because the information was not available. Keep in mind that most complaints are made against the manufacturer, but some target the retailer.
Marijuana General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance protects businesses in a variety of ways. If someone slipped and fell, that injury would be covered. Claims against small businesses are more common than many might expect. Most company’s deal with at least one claim every ten years. While that may not seem like much, the average cost of a claim is $35,000. Without coverage, those dollars would have to be paid directly out of company funds. Claims also cover advertising and third-party damages. Legal fees are covered by this insurance, as is any settlement.
General liability insurance for a marijuana business is not much different from the standard policy issued to other companies. However, a knowledgeable broker should be consulted to ensure that no special types of liability can be assigned due to the nature of the business. Since it covers the operational end, it is vital that all safety standards be in place within the workplace. Workers must be trained in safety measures to stay in compliance. Since many growers add additional labor during harvest, these policies can often be expanded to cover their work time.
Marijuana Crop Insurance
Growers may find crop insurance tough to purchase. The crop insurance typically bought by farmers is subsidized by the federal government. Since cannabis remains illegal at the national level, this type of subsidy is not available to grow operations. It shields growers from plant loss due to weather events, such as floods, hail, or drought. Drops in crop yield or a sudden decrease in price may be protected with these policies. The cost of the insurance coverage for greenhouses will depend upon the volume grown and if the crop was planted in the open air or within a greenhouse.
Marijuana growers can cover their seeds, seedlings, and fully mature plants ready for harvest. It also includes the curing process, the time spent hanging to dry, and the product that is ready to ship. In many areas of the nation, fires have become severe. These fires have affected marijuana grow sites. It is especially important to carry crop insurance when growing in regions with massive wildfires.
Cyber Insurance
Cybercrime is on the rise all over the world, and businesses must protect their private information as well as protected information received from customers. Customers share their personal credit card information and may share their medical information at dispensaries. Cyber insurance for marijuana-based industries can be cumbersome to obtain since very few carriers offer cyber insurance policies. That’s because the situation is so volatile when it comes to hackers that the risks have not yet been properly assessed.
Evaluating an individual business requires that essential questions be asked. Is it a cash-only business? If this is the case, customer credit card information will not be collected. Is medical information collected? Is sensitive employee data stored online? To get a better rate, a solid plan of protection such as a firewall to protect data stored on computers should be installed. If a business is hacked, the ensuing expenses will be covered by the policy.
The marijuana business has grown. There is no doubt about that. And its infrastructure is expensive. Without insurance, owners place themselves in a position of losing everything if an accident occurs or a freak of nature leaves them without any product. Having product liability, general liability, crop, and cyber insurance is a good starting point to fully protect growers, retailers, landlords, and dispensaries. In the past, insurance was not available. However, with marijuana industry growth, more and better coverage can be had.
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All employers have to provide their employees with a safe working environment. Failing to care for the health and wellbeing of your staff can lead to workplace accidents and injuries, which will harm productivity and affect your bottom line over time. It is also likely to impact employee engagement and result in low levels of satisfaction in the workplace. Health and safety should, therefore, be a top priority for all businesses. With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to create a safe working environment:
Identify potential workplace hazards
All workplaces have some potential health risks. This includes physical hazards such as trips and falls, along with ergonomic hazards, including musculoskeletal injuries caused by poor posture. Some working environments may also have additional risks, such as biological and chemical hazards. Employers have a legal responsibility to identify potential workplace hazards and take reasonable steps to control the risk. Managers should carry out a regular risk assessment and look at work activities to determine what hazards are present in the workplace. They should then decide what control measures should be implemented to help minimize the risk of damage or injury. There is an excellent variety of resources providing guidance on how to carry out an assessment in the workplace.
Offer quality employee training
Employees must receive training on health and safety and be educated on the best practices to follow in the workplace. Making your staff aware of potential hazards will help them avoid accidents and injuries in the workplace. For instance, your team should be trained on how to safely lift and move heavy items and how to operate work machinery correctly. Ideally, you should provide regular training sessions on health and safety and enforce strict safety regulations in the workplace to help protect your staff. You can encourage employees to follow safety compliance by implementing clear policies and placing visual signs around your workplace that remind employees of the rules in place.
Provide the right equipment
Employees should always be provided with any equipment needed to complete their work activities safely and effectively. Failing to provide the right equipment will harm workplace productivity and may contribute to accidents and injuries in the workplace. For that reason, it is worth investing in reliable, high-quality tools and equipment. Employees must also be provided with uniforms and protective equipment, particularly if they are working in a high-risk environment such as construction. For example, staff will require shielding solutions like lead-free radiation shielding if their job role requires them to come into contact with radiation. Employers should complete a risk assessment to identify what tools and equipment their staff need to carry out their work tasks safely.
Conclusion
Every employee deserves to work in a safe environment, and employers should take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of their teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple ways to maintain a safe and positive working environment for your employees. Use the above tips to boost safety levels in your workplace today!
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When you are trying to run a modern company, it is important to do as much as you can to enhance the safety and security of the business. There are loads of things you can do that are going to help you make the most of this right now. The better you can protect your business the more important it is for you to be able to grow and develop as a brand, and there are plenty of ways of doing this.
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