Protecting Your Business (cont...)

...and should endeavour to address the following areas:

• Backups

Whatever you do to minimise the risks and threats to your business you need to include an appropriate backup solution. Backups should be done regularly, encrypted and stored offsite.

You can reduce risks of data loss by performing a number of preventative measures but you can't control the outcomes of those activities.

It is imperative to perform regular encrypted backups and store them offsite in an appropriate and secure manner.

• Power

Ensure that there is sufficient protection and support from your main power source. A surge protector or UPS (uninterruptible power supply) can protect against power spikes and blackouts etc. You can also get protectors that support phone lines which is a common source of power problems if you have a modem connected to your computer.

• Physical access

If people can access your computer and hence the windows environment without any security then you don't have any security at all. Preventing your computer from being removed creates physical security but you also need to have passwords to stop access to your data and sensitive information.

• Internet security

If you are connected to the Internet you will need to make sure you have sufficient protection from viruses, hackers, spyware, trojans etc. Can you implement physical firewall boxes which provide a certain level of security but you will definitely want a software firewall and anti-spyware software to minimise your risks of malware from the Internet.

• Maintenance

Hardware is the most common cause of data loss and hardware will fail and if you don't have some strategy to replace hardware every few years you are definitely playing Russian roulette with your important data.