KEEP YOUR DATA SAFE
The annual Information Security Breaches Survey (DTI/PriceWaterhouse Coopers, 2004) demonstrates just how important IT security is.
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UK businesses suffer one security breach a month on average |
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A third had a security incident that involved loss of data |
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A quarter had a significant incident involving accidental systems failure or data corruption |
The Consequences
There can be serious consequenes for the bottom line. The average cost of a serious security incident was around £10,000, according to the survey. But even a virus attack – probably the most common external problem encountered by the smaller business – will carry a price tag approaching £1,000.
This kind of incident will mean an average downtime of over seven hours while the problem is sorted out. That can translate as lost business and damage to your reputation.
This is not just a big company problem: sixty per cent of all business data is held on PCs or laptops. A quarter of laptops are either stolen or suffer hardware failure. In total, 7 out of 10 small firms go out of business within a year if they experience a major data loss, according to DTI estimates.
Where Does the Data Go?
Data loss comes in two forms – inadvertent includes hardware failures like disk crashes, laptop loss, and other examples of human or machine error. The solution here is a rigorously observed backup policy. You should also keep your software up-to-date by downloading and installing updates that are issued regularly by software manufacturers. These updates minimise the chances of the program failing and causing problems.
The risk of deliberate theft of data is equally worrying, especially as our increasingly reliance on the internet means an increasing risk of attack. Hackers may have a specific target, typically confidential information about your business. But many take a scattergun approach: they’re after credit card numbers, bank details and similar data, and they are trawling the internet to see what they can pick up from any source.
Defend Yourself
Your first line of defence should be a firewall. A firewall controls communications to and from your PC, hiding your computer from the kind of programs that might be used to steal your information.
A firewall is not the complete answer. You also need an antivirus program, safe email handling, and careful web use.
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