Simple Measures you can take to safeguard your online business

8th December 2009 – Mumbai, India

As the online commerce market grows, so does the number of security threats. Today, most online businesses are vulnerable to a variety of online and offline threats such as hackers, viruses, employes and even your own customers. To protect your business (profit & success), you cannot afford to simply install an anti-virus solution and be secure. You need to understand what online fraud, align with the security conscious payment service provider and develop and execute a stringent internal security plan.

A security conscious payment service provider, should provide you with security measure such as

• State of the art security firewalls
• Industry-standard Verisign’s 128 bit SSL (Standard Sockets Layer) Technology
• PCI DSS 1.1 Standards of Compliance

The measures listed above will help safeguard your transaction information. However, you too need to develop and execute a stringent internal security plan. Here are some simple security measures that you use to protect your online business from online and offline security threats:

Online Security

Anti-virus & Firewalls

• Plan for problems. Viruses and Hackers are the banes of online businesses. You need to have a proper plan to encounter threats such as hackers or viruses.
• Use an anti-virus and firewall software from a reputed company as it helps reduces online risk.
• Auto set your anti-virus software to scan your computer on a regular basis for all types of security threats - viruses, trojans and worms.
• Update Regularly. It is not enough to install an anti-virus and firewall, you need to check and install software updates and patches regular to ensure that your information receives maximum security.

Email Security

• Scan Attachments. One of the most common methods for hackers to infect your computer is through viruses in email attachments. So, always scan attachments with your anti-virus software before opening even if it’s from someone you know.
• Spam Filters. Do not open spam as they most often contain worms, viruses and trojans. In fact, adopt the adage ‘Prevention is better than cure’ and install spam filters to block spam and other unsolicited email.

Offline Security

• Make sure that you and your office staff always sign out or log off your computers.
• Make sure that you always test your back up, so that you know that your work will always be saved even if any problems do occur.
• Keep your back up information in a safe place, such as your safe.
• Avoid using passwords that can be easily broken such as your first name, last name, known pet name, father/mother's name or birth dates, etc.
• Never write down your passwords unless necessary, then too make sure it is stored in a safe place.
• Try to modify your password every month.
• Make sure that you develop a security policy for your business and that you and your staff strictly adhere to it, this ensures that your information is safe at all times.

To summarize, security is important. Do not endanger your business and potential profitability by neglecting to employ stringent your online and offline security measures.