Taking Your Business Security to Another Level

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Business Security|Taking Your Business Security to Another LevelBusiness security is vital for protecting assets, employees, and intellectual property. And your company is under constant threat from hackers. So here are some practical protection tips.

Exercise Access Controls

Access control is an excellent tool for restricting specific people from areas of a physical site or server. You can control physical access controls using simple yet powerful key card entry systems. Key cards are programmable, meaning a user without the correct credentials imprinted on a key card cannot access a mismatched lock. Kind of like the security levels you see in the movies. For your business network, you can also implement something similar. Your network administrators can restrict access to specific drives and folders with OS policies and user levels.

Install Facial Recognition

CCTV cameras have come a long way since the choppy, low-resolution, inter-frame devices of the 1990s. Today, you can install Wi-Fi enabled, 24 fps, 4K, smart cameras for relatively little. These are supremely clear and have advanced features like high-detail zooming. However, you can go one step further and install high-tech cameras with facial recognition software. Suppose you manage a store and have banned someone for stealing. Facial recognition cameras can spot them and alert you. Or warn you to a face entering your site that isn’t in the staff database.

Boost Business Security with Non-Lethal Arms

Most countries don’t allow security to carry firearms. Yet, in some places, the killing of private security staff is double that of police. But there are non-lethal options you can use. These are much cheaper, have less chance of severe injury, and are mostly legal. Additionally, they hurt enough that they will stop a violent criminal in their tracks. Examples include pepper spray, tasers, and rubber bullets or bean bags. Many of these non-lethal alternatives also look a lot like real guns. And in most cases, just the presence of these weapons is enough to deter a criminal.


Invest in the Latest Technology

Like most things, security technology is constantly evolving. Modern advancements include facial recognition and key card access. However, there are more technologically advanced controls than these that you can invest in. Some aren’t as new, and others are in their infancy. Examples include biometrics for scanning the eyes, fingerprints, and palms. However, you can take your cameras mobile with security drones. Models like the Easy Aerial SAMS are designed for remote control and perimeter scanning with a high-quality camera and advanced recognition.

Implement Strict Cybersecurity

There is a genuine threat of a cyberattack on your business. And your business size doesn’t mitigate risk. Almost 60% of attempted hacks each year target small to medium businesses. These include data theft, ransomware, and DDoS attacks. Any of these is disastrous for a company of any size. Therefore, you must spend some money on cybersecurity. The best cybersecurity plans for businesses include physical and software firewalls, regular data backups, and employee education. You could use an IT service or hire an expert security team.

Summary

It pays to invest in business security to protect your company and employees. User access control, non-lethal deterrents, and cybersecurity protocols are all excellent methods.

Some Of The Best Insurance Tips To Help Manage Construction Risk

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Insurance tips|Some Of The Best Insurance Tips To Help Manage Construction RiskConstruction always has risk attached to it. This is true with any kind of construction. Because of this, the risks need to be effectively managed. The most common and perhaps best way is by getting Advantage Insurance. Here are some of the best tips to help with this.

Tips:

1. Contract

The construction contract is the number one thing that needs to be ironclad for better risk management. Everything in the contract needs to detail the plan. The contract and its related documents should have the risk allocation plan in them. This includes any insured provisions, exculpation, and indemnity clauses.

2. Builder’s Risk Insurance

This insurance is very important. This type of insurance can be purchased with a much more broad policy that doesn’t have to be overly expensive. With this insurance in place, you can protect yourself from any potential damage that incurs on the site or any lost profits from various problems that could crop up.

3. Don’t Buy Insurance Coverage Unless Necessary

You will want to ensure that you are hiring an experienced and knowledgeable broker. Find someone that has direct experience working with these types of projects. You want someone that has direct knowledge of the work that’s to be done. Someone with experience will know the right questions to ask and they will know how to minimize risk. You will find that some insurance isn’t necessary for specific projects. You want to figure out what insurance is needed and why it’s needed for each project you do. Try not to assume anything on your own. If you don’t know, then you don’t know. You don’t want to purchase insurance if it’s not going to help. You want to save your money for when insurance can help.

4. Read The Policy

Don’t make the mistake of not looking over the policy. You want to read the policy right when you get it. Reading the policy and going over it will help you figure out what it covers and what it doesn’t. There is no substitute for reading it. You need to do the legwork to ensure that you know what you are getting into. You cannot rely on the certificate. You need to read the policy yourself and try to comprehend what it entails. Anyone that is a policyholder needs to know what they are signing up for. You want to read it as soon as possible and reject it if the terms aren’t to your liking. You want to ensure that the policy matches what you were told.

5. Mind Your Prepositions

There was at least one court that ended up ruling that a blanket additional insured endorsement did not necessarily extend the coverage to someone who was a prime contractor of the project. This is true even though the holder of the policy agreed to extend the coverage within the contract itself. They even issued a certificate of insurance showcasing that there was mutually agreed insurance in place. The court ruled that the prime contractor is a legal entity to whom the holder agreed to extend coverage, but it didn’t meet the legal “with whom” requirement that was set forth within the policy.


6. Be Crystal Clear About Who Qualifies As “Another Party”

The majority of CGL insurance policies don’t offer coverage for contract-based claims. The exception is where the claim comes out of an “insured contract” agreement. This is an agreement where the holder of the policy assumed the liability of “another party” to pay for any resulting property damage or personal injury to someone deemed a third party. Some courts have narrowed the view of what qualifies as “another party.” This is typically used as an exception in a contract and it’s usually limited to the holder’s contractual counter-party. This ends up excluding the insurance coverage for a GC’s liability to the owner coming from any third-party negligence. This is true even though the GC assumed the liability in the original contract. This is a situation that should be handled through an endorsement amending the contractual definition of “insured contract.”

7. Understand The Restrictions In Endorsements

The coverage can be restricted in numerous ways when it comes to additional insured endorsements. One of the newer changes is the limiting of how much coverage was available to those who are additional insured. There are limits in place and anyone deemed additional insured could access more significant policy limits by clearly specifying within the contract that the greater number would apply when comparing the minimum specified and the actual limits.

8. Keep An Eye On Waivers Of Subrogation

This is something that can end up relinquishing the right to recover from various losses that would normally be covered under the insurance policy. This is sometimes an action that takes place between a couple or more parties that are involved in a construction project. It’s important to be wary of these because some of the policies out there will end up penalizing the holder of the policy for waiving subrogation. You want to ensure that everyone involved is doing it properly.

9. Excess Of Wrap-Up Endorsement

This is something that can bring a lot of benefits to everyone involved. It can help with the risk management of a construction project. Contractor-controlled insurance programs or “wrap-ups” can help to minimize finger-pointing, help with cost savings, and more. However, you do need to understand the limits of wrap-ups and that they are equally shared among those involved. Thus, they may not necessarily be the best option to protect the interests of everyone involved with the construction project. A lot of the newer corporate insurance programs have some wrap-up exclusions attached. Therefore, you’ll want to speak with your hired broker to endorse your insurance program to apply excess wrap-ups if you do participate.

10. Ensure Your Risk Management Matches The Scope Of The Project

You need to ensure that your risk management is scaled properly with the project itself. Keep in mind, that the “guaranteed maximum price” is not going to be any more guaranteed than something deemed an “all-in lump sum.” The price that ends up getting paid out is always subject to expansion. It can also be subject to a reduction in some cases. You need to look at the work needed and ensure that all of the risks are mitigated. When deemed appropriate, try to transfer the risk to the insurance. You want to attempt to get “claw-back” provisions in place if the total cost of the future work insured isn’t yet known.

How to Handle Sensitive Documents In Business

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Handle Sensitive Documents|How to Handle Sensitive Documents In BusinessIn business sometimes you will need to handle highly confidential documents. When you need to handle extremely confidential documents you have to have a system in place on how you are going to keep them secure.

It can be quite challenging if you do not have a set procedure in place. You run the risk of getting the documents into the wrong hands. Here’s a look at some of the steps you need to take to keep your business documents private.

Protect Digital Information

If you have confidential documents that are stored digitally you need to make sure that you secure them with strong passwords, encryption, and firewalls.

Limit who can has access to the documents. Limiting the number of people who know about the document as well as who have passwords to access the documents, is the only way to ensure that you keep them protected.

Shred and Discard Documents the Right Way

Even though there are a lot of digital and electronic files being used regularly. As a business, you will still have to deal with a lot of paperwork.

Sometimes this cannot be avoided. However, when you have confidential information in documents you need to ensure that you secure them. You can secure them by putting them in lockable document storage cabinets in specific corners or rooms in your office.

If you must get rid of documents you should consider using document shredding services to ensure that your documents do not get into the wrong hands.


Train Your Employees

One of the biggest reasons why confidential documents end up in the wrong hands is because employees are not trained. Your employees may unknowingly cause confidential information to get into the wrong hands by not being careful.

You must train your employees on how to use security passwords, and spot phishing email scams. You also need to educate them on safe storage and destruction of confidential documents. Making sure that your employees are well versed in how to take care of your business documents is the only way to ensure that they do not end up in the wrong hands due to their negligence.

Safe Delivery of Documents

If you have a busy office then chances are your documents are always coming and going. You need to make sure that you have a secure process for receiving documents as well as sending any confidential documents.

When you need documents delivered to a third party make sure that you use a courier service that has a high level of integrity. When you are sending off documents make sure that you use a file-sharing service and always encrypt your documents.

Stay Safe

Ensuring that the documents that come in and out of your office are kept safe and confidential is very important. Failure to do this can mean that you expose her personal information to unscrupulous people.

Documents that are loaded with personal information about your business, your clients, and those you partner with should always be kept as safe as possible. By employing the methods discussed here you have a greater chance of securing your business.

How can anti-piracy companies help protect your DMCA?

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |DMCA|How can anti-piracy companies help protect your DMCA?DMCA, who does not know it? It is the abbreviation for ‘Digital Millennium Copyright Act’, an act established by the American government. The act is a rule to extend the copyright law focused on the ‘digital millennium technology’, since it can be claimed that today’s society is merely focused on online technologies. With the rise of technologies, also a rise of online piracy can be detected. Your company can easily be harmed by online pirates making use of online piracy, which is a shame because chances of losing revenue are also increasing due this. Luckily, there are lots of companies that can help you protect your band, with so-called DMCA takedowns! These kinds of companies are putting everything on the line in order to help and protect your brand. Are you curious how DMCA services might come in handy in your branch or sector? Please read through the information beneath.

e-Learning, Tutorials & Course Piracy

The rise of the technology can not only be seen within the increasingly popular social media platforms, or the way people are communicating with each other. It goes beyond regularly using technologies; nowadays people are even educating themselves online. Self-education via online platforms can be done by the use of LinkedIn, Udemy, Coursera or every other digital environment where courses and instruction videos can be uploaded. With the use of DMCA protection by an anti-piracy company, you can ensure that your videos are protected and illegally copied videos are taken down.


Movies, (TV) Series & OTT Platform Piracy

Technological developments in our society also makes it easier to watch whatever we want, wherever we want and whenever we want. Nowadays, an often-occurring problem within the film industry is the illegal streaming and sharing of their own content, obviously without their consent. By sending out a DMCA take-down request via an anti-piracy company, the income stream of your production company or OTT platform can be protected.

Magazines, e-Books & Publishing Piracy

DMCA protection about content is not only about instruction videos, digital courses and series. It is also about written content, such as magazines, e-Books and other kinds of publishing. It is found that written documents are very popular among online pirates. Anti-piracy companies can offer DMCA protection by the use of constant monitoring by trained analysts. Eventually, DMCA takedowns can help take down illegal copies of your written consent which in the end contribute to an increase of revenue; people will not be able anymore to use your content for free.

Why You Need Penetration Testing

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | Why You Need Penetration TestingIf you have any online firm or business, it is essential to keep it secure. There are hundreds of cyberattacks every day, and your company could be next. It is especially true if you have a medium or large business. You can have your security tested by professionals who know what to look for and knows how to spot vulnerabilities. If you decide to forego this essential security step, you could be leaving yourself open to an attack that could severely damage your business. Here are some reasons why you need penetration testing.

It Can Save You Money

You might wonder about penetration testing pricing and how much you will have to spend upfront. While you may have to spend some money initially, you can save money later. Cyberattacks can be costly, and depending on the nature of the attack, you might have to pay thousands of dollars to fix the problem. Hackers might also steal your money rather than attack your system, so keep this in mind.

It Can Protect Your Company

If you deal with sensitive information or you have a lot of essential files, penetration testing can help protect these files. Penetration testers, also known as white hat hackers, can see where any vulnerabilities lie in your system and alert you. They can offer suggestions about making your system more secure and less susceptible to attacks from cybercriminals.

It Can Protect Your Customers

If you have customers, penetration testing can help protect their sensitive information and keep them secure. Cybercriminals may try to steal credit cards and other financial data or even identities. A safe system that has had tests for issues in its defense is essential. If a customer’s information is exposed or stolen, you no longer only have an issue with hackers but also a problem with customer trust. Customers will go to another company with a more secure system if they feel they have gotten exposed. Your reputation is on the line if your company is the victim of a cyberattack, so testing all parts of your system is crucial. It includes networks and web apps.

It Can Put You Ahead of Competitors

If people know your organization has excellent security that has been tested and updated by professionals, they may be more inclined to use your product or service. If you stay ahead of the competition by having a secure system that hackers can not exploit easily, you can use this as a selling feature. Customers want to feel that your products are not risky to use or purchase and that their information is always safe. Penetration testing can help with this and help you be more prepared for any cyberattacks.

Penetration testing may seem complicated or pricey, but it is essential if you run a large business. Customers rely on you, and cyberattacks happen every day. Organizations need their customer’s trust to run a successful business. A penetration tester can find weaknesses in your system before cybercriminals do. If you take the time to prepare, you can avoid loss of information and avoid costly repairs.