Business Connections for Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 3 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Every Business Needs a Continuity Plan Could your small business stay operational in the event of a disaster such as a blizzard, fire or flood? It may not be a pleasant topic to consider, but it’s certainly a necessary one. A business continuity plan can ensure that your business is able to recover and continue functioning after (or even during) a major disaster. The development of such a plan does not have to be a difficult process. Do some research online and you’ll find guides, sample plans and software to help you. You’ll be prompted to do tasks such as the following: • Assess the possible impact a natural disaster would have on your business. • Select a Crisis Manager and team of key staff members responsible for creating and executing the continuity plan. • Document employee emergency contact information. • Create a prioritized list of essential operations, staff and procedures needed to recover from a disaster and continue business. • List primary and alternate suppliers and contractors who can provide the equipment and supplies you need to continue business. • Designate an alternate business location with phone and computer access. • Protect your computer hardware and software, and plan for backup computers at your alternate location. • Back up critical records and store them online or at a secure off-site location. • Decide on methods of communication with workers, clients, vendors and media. • Train workers and review your plan annually. It all comes down to this: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So make sure you develop and maintain a business continuity plan. For help with communications needs, contact our business team at 877.584.1581. WHY DO HACKERS TARGET SMALL BUSINESSES? Are you surprised by the question posed in this article’s headline? Are you one of the many small businesses under the mistaken impression that hackers are only interested in stealing data from big corporations like retail chains? Do you think you don’t really have data worth stealing? Actually, small businesses fall into a “sweet spot” for hackers—they have more digital assets to target than an individual consumer but less security in place than an enterprise business. Small businesses tend to be less consciously aware of their risk for cyberattacks and therefore don’t allocate enough time and money for cybersecurity measures. Statistics point to the fact that small businesses need to pay attention to cybersecurity. According to the Verizon 2018 Data Breach Investigation Report, 58 percent of malware attack victims are categorized as small businesses. 1 The U.S. Small Business Admin- istration offers a self-paced training course on Cybersecurity for Small Businesses. Visit www.sba.gov/ tools/sba-learning-center/training/ cybersecurity-small-businesses to access it. 1 https://bit.ly/2I7B8EO