3 Reasons to Be Careful about the Companies You Do Business With

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 3 Reasons to Be Careful about the Companies You Do Business With | Entrepreneurship | Risk ManagementIn business, there are all kinds of different things that you need to be mindful of, and cautious about. It’s certainly the case that you need to invest your money wisely, and if you’re operating in the wrong niche, that in and of itself can be lethal.

Perhaps one of the biggest pitfalls that a new entrepreneur can fall into, however, is getting in bed with the wrong business partners, or becoming a bit too embroiled in shady dealings, alongside unscrupulous companies.

Certain businesses are likely to be a boon to you, if you work with them. A company that is focused on protecting the rights of maritime workers, and that is run ethically by an upright and reputable individual, is unlikely to cause you trouble if you happen to be in partnership with them.

Other companies, on the other hand, can ruin you by association.

Here are a few reasons to be careful about the company you keep in business.

You may get exploited and dragged down directly

The first risk that you face when doing business with an unscrupulous company, is that they exploit and drag you down directly.

It’s not unheard of for devious business partners to use fairly naïve entrepreneurs as “fall guys” for schemes that are fundamentally based on misrepresentation, and exploitation of the customer. In such cases as these, you might find yourself being contractually listed as the responsible party when things go wrong.

Other forms of exploitation are even more blatant – and involve things like the direct theft of your unsecured intellectual property.

Your reputation can be permanently tarnished by working with an unscrupulous company

In business, reputation is a big deal, and if you sink yours by associating yourself with deeply disreputable companies, it’s entirely possible – if not even likely – that you will never be able to recover, professionally.

Plenty of people find their reputations completely destroyed, not necessarily because of something they did, but because they got too close to assorted sketchy companies, and were painted with the same brush when things eventually came to a head.

Avoid this situation altogether, because trying to do damage control can be a real pain.

By being inattentive, and complacent, you may end up in a position where you compromise your own moral code

This is actually the most important point in the list, although it comes last in the article.

Plenty of companies act in ways that will violate various people’s moral codes and standards. Of course, living by a moral code, and being forthright and accountable to your own values, is perhaps the most important thing in life.

Without character, you have nothing.

Just by being inattentive, and complacent, you may end up in a position where you absentmindedly or unknowingly compromise your own moral code, by your choice of collaborator.

It’s very hard to regain self-respect if you come to find that a company you are closely working with has ruined the lives of your joint customers or clients through their immoral or reckless actions.

Ideas For Keeping Your Small Business Protected Online

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Cybersecurity | Risk Management | Ideas For Keeping Your Small Business Protected Online These days you’re likely doing a lot of business and performing your tasks online. While the Internet can be an extremely beneficial way to run your company, it also comes with its downsides.

One cause for concern is being vulnerable to hackers and those who wish to sabotage your files and business. The following ideas are going to help you learn and understand what you can be doing better at your workplace to protect your small business online. This is one subject matter you want to take seriously and attend to if you wish to keep your company free from any unfortunate situations that will be difficult to clean up later on.

Educate Yourself and Be Current

One idea for keeping your small business protected online is to educate yourself on the topic. Be current about knowing what anti-virus programs to use, what backups to perform and when and getting to know your computers better so you can make sure they’re consistently running smoothly. The more you know about IT maintenance, the less of a chance there will be that your business will fall victim to hackers and wrongdoers. You put yourself at risk for negative consequences when you choose not to learn more about online security and what you can be doing better to improve it at your workplace.

Hire Help

Another great idea is to hire help and pay for the professionals to assist you on the matter such as using a Managed IT service. The reality is there’s a lot of information in this area you’re not going to know and will need assistance with if you want to make sure your business is protected online. You likely have other pressing matters and initiatives to attend to and can’t always be in the know about what’s new in the IT world. Invest in using a third party to help you make sure you’re doing all you can to keep yourselves safe on the Internet.

Use Strong Passwords

Never underestimate the advantages of using strong passwords to protect your computers and files. Keep your small business protected online by committing to using passwords that would make it difficult for someone else to hack into your information. Create ones that are challenging and complex, but also update your current passwords often so that it makes it harder for someone else to guess it or compromise your data.

Provide Best Practices to Your Employees

It’s not only your job to make sure your business is protected online, but also that of your employees. However, they may not be aware of how important this matter is or how to go about doing so unless you inform them. Provide best practices your employees can use to make sure their laptops and files are secure. For example, educate them about not clicking suspicious looking links, following through and complying with computer updates and who to ask or turn to should they have online security questions.

The Importance of Risk Assessment in Business

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article|Risk Assessment|The Importance of Risk Assessment in BusinessRisks are part and parcel of everyday life. You might not realize you’re doing it, but you assess risks throughout your normal day. The risk of it raining and whether you need to carry an umbrella, the risk of getting caught in a traffic jam and being late for work, the risks connected with any investments you make, even the risk of being run down before you cross the street. The business world is no different.

Business risks come in many shapes and forms and can come from both internal and external sources. Externally, there are political issues, interest and exchange rates, new market competitors, and financial risks such as investments. Internal risks include workplace injuries, non-compliance, information breaches, loss of funds through theft and many other unexpected events.
To safeguard your business as much as possible, a risk management plan is vital. Many of the risks a company faces can cost your organization money or result in it closing permanently. With a risk management plan in place you’ll be better prepared for those unexpected events, and able to minimize the risk and extra costs before they happen.

What Does a Risk Management Plan Entail?

Risk management is the process of identifying risks, problems or disasters before they happen. By identifying those risks, you’re able to set up procedures and processes to either avoid the risk altogether, minimize its impact or help your business cope better. Having a risk management plan requires a realistic evaluation of the risk and a plan to deal with it.

Certain questions have to be answered as part of the risk management process. For example:

  • What can go wrong?
  • How is it going to affect your business?
  • What should you do?
  • Should something happen how is it going to be paid for?

For a risk management plan to be effective, it has to have the backing of everyone in your organization, with staff knowing what their roles and responsibilities are and who is accountable. It requires the establishment of policies and procedures with resources and tools made available for the plan. Training, testing, and monitoring of the plan is also essential.

The Benefits of an Effective Risk Management Plan

There are many benefits to having a risk management plan in place. It helps to provide a safe and secure environment not only for your employees but for you, visitors and customers too. People and assets are protected from harm. Legal liability is reduced, and the stability of your operations increases. The threat of possible litigation is reduced. Your risk management plan also helps to protect the environment. When risks are reduced, there are savings in many areas of your business such as time, income, assets, property and people.

Risk Assessment Tools and Software

Thanks to technology there are a wealth of tools and software you can use to make the process easier. There are many other benefits to using RSM or Risk Management Software. To begin with, it helps you identify, manage, and reduce various risks throughout your business. It also helps protect the welfare of employees. Before software came along a company would have to use a paper-based system for assessing risks which were very time-consuming. Using software saves time but also eliminates human error and reduces risk because it utilizes risk formulas. Many aspects of the risk assessment process are streamlined saving time and manpower when compared with more traditional risk management methods.

Risk assessment software can be used across a wide range of industries and while it is very beneficial for the vast majority, there are a few instances where it has not always proved to be quite so successful. One prime example is in the area of bail reform where risk assessment software is being used to determine the pretrial release of a prisoner. You can learn more about it here.

The benefits of using risk management software, however, far outweigh any negative aspects. By systematically identifying and addressing risks, it helps to promote a risk-aware business culture. Throughout the risk cycle, the software allows you to stay organized, input new risks and monitor them regularly. Risks can be prioritized according to an assigned risk score. Throughout each stage of the risk monitoring process, it’s much easier to assign responsibility. Risk management tools also help with risk reporting, analytics and metrics.

Tips for Buying Risk Management Tools

There is a wide range of risk management tools to choose from, but that doesn’t mean they’re all going to be right for your business. The following points should help you pick the best risk management solution for your business.

When you’re new to risk management or risk management tools, it’s vital you do your due diligence research. You should make sure to read as much as you can, especially about the different types of software, talk to your peers and anyone in your network. Before you start speaking to various vendors, it’s important you identify the areas in which you think software is going to help. Don’t just look for cool features. Instead, you need to look for software that is going to assist you in the areas you’ve identified. One last tip is to read as many risk management software reviews as you can. The vendors you speak to are likely to bombard you with technical jargon and the obvious sales pitch, but user reviews cut to the point and will give you a clear picture of the pros and cons of any software.

Risks are an integral part of the business world with organizations of all sizes having to face a myriad of them in their daily operations. Risks include natural disasters, security, compliance, governance, legal, and financial. It would be impossible to avoid all risks entirely, but effective risk assessment can help identify, measure, predict and manage them appropriately. Now you appreciate the importance of risk assessment and how a risk management plan can help your business you’ll be able to weigh up what type of solution is right for your needs.

Six Security Strategy Tips for Your SME

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Online Security|Six Security Strategy Tips for Your SMETo ensure that your SME is protected from security threats, there are various strategies that you can implement. Your business could suffer from financial loss if security is breached, whether it is online and computer security, through employee errors, or the security of the building in which your business is based. Staying ahead of the latest security development in your field is essential, and could help to ensure your company has a future. Here are six security strategy tips for your SME.

1. Network Security

There are an increasing amount of security threats to your business that come from the internet, and one strategy you can use to protect it is to make sure you have good network security. This means using different layers of protection, such as anti-virus software that can stop computer systems being affected by malware.

2. Password Protection

Make sure you have different passwords for the area you need to log on to online. If a hacker were able to get access to your password, then it would only be one account affected rather than the rest of them that have the same password. Change your passwords regularly, and use a combination of letters, characters, and numbers, so they are not easy to guess.

3. Updated Software

If you do not regularly update your software, it leaves them vulnerable to attack, and they are not equipped to deal with the newest forms of cyber threat. When you update, it repairs any weaknesses that hackers could use to infiltrate your systems. Sometimes it is not convenient to update, especially when you are in the middle of a task. However, it is not something that should be overlooked.

4. Don’t Click Spam Email Links

Any inbox gets its fair share of  and they are not always easy to spot. However if they come from an address that seems to have lots of letters and numbers in it or the title doesn’t look like something usually sent to your business, avoid opening. If you do have to open an uncertain email, never click on any links it contains as it could be malware.

5. Use Encryption

Encryption makes it difficult for hackers to make sense of any information they steal, as an encrypted file will look like a string of nonsensical code. This adds another level of security for your business.

6. Train Employees

If your employees use laptops or have work stored on other devices, make sure they are aware of the dos and don’ts about security. Confidential and sensitive information can be stolen if they accidentally lose their laptop, or use WiFi in public places. Keep employees up-to-date with any relevant training, and this should minimize the risk of having data stolen from your business.

Cyber-crime is increasing, so getting the right security strategies in place is essential. If sensitive data is stolen, your business could find it hard to recover. Take the right steps to avoid security threats now, and have peace of mind for the future of your company.

How to deal with cyber-attacks: publicly or privately?

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | How to deal with cyber-attacks: publicly or privately?Cyber attacks spiked 164% in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016, entailing 918 disclosed breaches-according reports on broadcaster CNBC. Threats vary from sector to sector. Healthcare, for example, is more susceptible to crypto-locker ransomware like the infamous WannaCry.

Internet-connected consumer devices often fall prey to malware that shackles them to remotely controlled botnets such as Mirai. Varied though the threat may be, and staggering though these numbers are, the word disclosed highlights a central paradox: While transparency contributes to the overall fortification of cyber-security protocols and procedures, battening down the hatches presumably mitigates further financial risk.

Sure, a disclosure is immensely beneficial in terms of buttressing industrial safeguards, national and global security, and customer protection – not to mention mitigating the longer-term repercussions of an attack – but so too can disclosure exact lasting damage on a bottom line.

Fighting back

The nature, intent, and consequences of an attack notwithstanding, the way companies have responded to breaches is closely related to their designation: public or private. CFOs at public and private companies face different risks and pressures when it comes to cyber-security and disclosure, and exhibit divergent perspectives when it comes to preparation.

Broadly speaking, public company CFOs are more likely to outsource cyber-security to third-party firms, while private CFOs tend to invest in in-house IT teams. Regardless of who secures a company’s network, breaches are often known by CFOs before they are made public. By disclosing a breach, CFOs of publicly traded companies might trigger investor panic and sell-off, whereas private company CFOs risk irreparable harm to consumer and employee confidence.

On one hand, foreknowledge of pending disclosures can put unique pressure on public company executives, who often own considerable amounts of company stock. The ongoing federal investigation of three Equifax C-suite managers for insider trading arose due to alleged stock dumping prior to the revelation of the company’s catastrophic cyber-attack.
Equifax underscores the tension between a public corporation’s responsibility to its board, shareholders, and customers, and the financial implications of both the breach itself and legal requirements governing its reporting and remediation.

On the other, while private companies aren’t under the same legal obligations in terms of disclosure, and while the short-term consequences may be less impactful, these companies still face long-term pitfalls, such as lost trust and tarnished brands. Moreover, a medium-sized business may not have the capital or reserves to recover reputationally or financially after a major data breach the way a multinational corporation can.

Additionally, the moderate scale of many private companies sometimes instills a false sense of security. Middle-market businesses often assume they’ll be overlooked by attackers, whether due to a large number of similar companies, or a lack of enticing assets. After all, isn’t it the bigger fish that stockpile the type of data and info that hackers tend to target?

Be prepared

A lack of proper preparation only exacerbates the panic once an attack does occur. Attempting to deal with an attack on the down low can earn private enterprises a reputation as easy marks, and provoke subsequent attacks. Further, if the rearguard strategy backfires, or is exposed by the press, this can amplify the damage to a company’s brand and leadership, not to mention potential legal consequences if a court can prove negligence.

In terms of the bigger picture, the lack of reliable data pertaining to attacks on private companies leads to lopsided analysis regarding the multifaceted aims and motives driving these attacks, resulting in a sort of half-finished portrait of the threat landscape.

While cybersecurity prevention could be vastly improved by greater information sharing, some surveys of CSOs indicate that only one in seven attacks are reported to authorities. Alas, as it stands, adequate event modeling, and risk and security assessments, are being stymied by a lack of shared intel on private company breaches, effectively hampering the development of comprehensive prevention and management strategies.

This lack has precipitated the introduction of numerous cyber-security regulations around the world, and though the regulatory ecosystem is in a state of flux, the global trend is invariably toward greater transparency. CNBC notes that “governments around the world are introducing legislation which will force more companies to disclose data breaches,” a reach that already extends to private enterprises.

Regulatory environment

Both private and public companies are compelled to comply with local, national and global disclosure regulations, including Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The GDPR, which regulates the collection and storage of customer information and data, and can levy fines of up to €20 million, requires that private companies disclose if they have a footprint in Europe, or otherwise handle the information of European citizens.

In the US, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) indexes the responsibilities of both public and private companies, including rules pertaining to compliance with federal prosecutors, and criminal penalties. Further, HIPAA governs how any company, public or private, handles personal health information.

Though public companies, traditionally, may have shouldered an inordinate amount of the fallout from disclosure, this has left them better readied for the implementation of legislation designed to enforce transparency. Even more advantageous, public companies now have hard-won practice mitigating the financial risks and ramifications resulting from disclosure.

Private companies, by contrast, are less aware and agile in terms of prevention and response; protecting their brand, for example, or proactively communicating with clients. Simply put, having been in battle, public CFOs are stepping up and getting more involved with cyber-security, while private CFOs, hovering on the sidelines, appear far more circumspect.

Make no mistake: this problem is only getting worse. The situation could improve rapidly if execs from companies of all stripes and sizes shared details of attacks with the larger corporate community.

Whether you are a CFO of an international, publicly-traded conglomerate, or a mid-sized regional business, it is well within your portfolio to do everything possible to properly prepare for the threat. Engage with the board, secure funding for proper security controls, and encourage leadership to be forthcoming when not if, your company’s cyber attack occurs.

About the Author

Andrew Douthwaite has over 17 years of technology experience joining VirtualArmour in 2007 as a senior engineer. Now as Chief Technology Officer, Andrew focuses on leading growth in the managed security services business and ensuring VirtualArmour is a thought leader in the security industry.