Nov 19, 2014 | SMB Technology
According to new IDC data, vendors shipped 327.6 million smartphones in the third quarter, an increase of 25.2%, when compared to the same quarter last year. This means that global smartphone shipments have topped 300 million shipments for the second quarter in a row. Although there have been rumors of a slowing market, the data clearly states otherwise. As technology pushes small to medium sized businesses towards smartphones and other mobile devices in the workplace, it is more important than ever to establish an effective BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy. 1. Decide What Mobile Devices Are Allowed If your company allows your employees to bring their own devices to work, it can be a nightmare for IT to have to support multiple platforms. Therefore, it is important to decide what devices are allowed to be used for work. Decide whether it is more cost-effective to purchase your own company devices to hand out to employees. 2. Establish BYOD Security Policies It is important for your company to establish an “acceptable use policy” for their mobile devices. This will curb employee distractions and reduce risks for harmful viruses and malware. Your company should also develop a monitoring system and disciplinary action for employees who disobey the policy. Although this may seem harsh, it may avoid a security breach down the road. 3. Employee Exit Policy In addition to creating an acceptable use policy, it is equally important to come up with an exit policy for when employees leave the company. Document in your employee exit checklist to ensure you remove the employee from access to information on the network,...
Nov 10, 2014 | SMB Technology
A new report from the Ponemon Institute, an organization that publishes the annual “Global Report on the Cost of Cyber Crime,” recently announced that the cost of a data breach has jumped 23% from last year. Here’s what your small to medium sized business needs to know about being prepared in case of a data breach. The Data Breach by the Numbers The report revealed that a data breach will cost a large company about $640,000. This price tag includes hefty costs, such as business disruption, information loss, and detection. The report also revealed that it takes a company an average of 31 days to recover, yet experts advise that the time to remediate from a breach should only be less than one week. Interestingly, small organizations have a higher per-capita cost than large organizations. So, what can your business do to be more prepared? Have a Data Breach Incident Response Plan An Incident Response is an organized approach to responding to and managing the aftermath of a security breach or attack. The goal of such a plan is to limit damage and reduce recovery time and costs. An Incident Recovery plan should include a clear-cut definition of what your company constitutes as an incident and a subsequent step-by-step process that should be followed carefully after an incident occurs. Consider Hiring an Information Security Firm If you contact an Information Security firm after a data breach occurs, your organization will have to pay more money and wait longer to recover. You may not be prepared to remediate and respond in time. Knowing who to call helps your organization avoid...
