Why Do You Need a Small Business Information Security Policy?

Summary: Learn why small and midsized businesses (SMBs) must create and continually update a comprehensive information security policy. A firm written policy helps employees and management understand the importance of data security in protecting company information as well as that of clients and employees. There is enormous liability for the data a company collects and stores.

Business data is a precious commodity. For an SMB, compromised data could lead to devastating consequences: the company may not have the financial reserves to survive a data breach or cyberattack. To protect business data, employees must know what is expected of them when handling data. To that end, all businesses must create, update and enforce an info security policy.

What Is An Information Security Policy?

An information security policy, also known as an infosec policy, is a comprehensive documentation of all the rules, security policies, procedures and best practices that a company requires all of its employees to follow diligently with regard to the collection, storage and transmission of private or sensitive data. The plan must define all of the employee best practices, as well as the protections already in place and the reporting and actions that must be taken in the event of a data breach. Furthermore, as hackers are constantly developing new techniques for stealing valuable data, a company must regularly update its info security policy to maintain robust and updated data protection.

Information security policies can be different for every business. What is sufficient protection for one company might not be enough for another company. Ideally, an infosec policy should be developed and enforced prior to a cyberattack. The costs of a data breach can far exceed cost of data protection and information technology security policy development. The goals of a strong policy are:

• Getting All Employees on the Same Page – Cyber security is only as strong as its weakest link. As is the case with most things, human action (or inaction) is the wild card. Over 90% of cyberattacks begin with human error. However, humans can be trained. If employees know what’s expected of them, they can be an invaluable part of the team charged with protecting data. In addition, they will have documentation to refer to if they are uncertain of any security measures. Information security training is a key component of employee security awareness training.
• Protecting Financial and Proprietary Data – A company’s proprietary and financial data are the “family jewels” to be protected at all costs. Improperly protected financial data can lead to deal-breaking data breaches with far-reaching implications. Proprietary data, including designs, formulas, patents and marketing plans, are the lifeblood of SMBs. They are the things that make a business unique. In the hands of a hacker or a competitor, proprietary or financial data can be used to exploit the company and, at worst, lead to its demise.
• Legal Compliance – Many businesses such as medical practices, law firms and accounting firms are legally bound to protect the privacy of client data. Laws have been enacted to protect privacy, and high-compliance enterprises like these must closely follow the legal requirements for protecting data privacy. There are regulation in place in many states that require the reporting of cyberattacks within strict time frames.
• Nurturing Trust From Vendors and Customers – If you did business with a bank that had robberies every week, you might be hesitant to continue banking there. In all businesses, consumer and vendor trust is an intangible asset. If your SMB has a comprehensive infosec policy and your business partners know you take it seriously, they will be more comfortable doing business with you. Increasingly, proof of cybersecurity and employee training are requirements in vendor or partner contracts.

Most SMBs would be wise to enlist the help of cybersecurity experts to perform a cyber risk analysis and help identify the business’s security vulnerabilities. Preparing an information security policy is too important for guesswork, and there are many factors to be considered. In collaboration with IT security professionals, the following steps should be taken:

• Discover and Define Cyber Vulnerabilities – Finding your company’s vulnerabilities is only half the challenge. You must also understand what segments of your data are put at risk by them. By knowing your weaknesses and where they lie, you will be able to prioritize what needs to be addressed first.
• Delineate Your Company’s Most Valuable Assets – Identifying and prioritizing a company’s most valuable intellectual property and financial components will give you a better sense of what cyber threat protections are most important and how they can be enacted and enforced via your infosec policy. Certain types of data are highly prized by cybercriminals. Identify this data and classify it for additional protection.
• Make the Policies Reasonable and Actionable – If your infosec policies are too difficult to understand or execute, you will be less likely to garner employee compliance. Also, complicated policies will be far more difficult to enforce if employees seek workarounds. Make adherence to the policy a condition of employment.
• Create Detailed Documentation – Every detail of your company’s information security policy must be documented. It is critical to document every minute detail. Put in the time up front to create detailed documentation. It can help save your business from the cost, disruption and devastation of a cyberattack or data breach.
• Review Your Infosec Policy Before Instituting It – Unless you have an in-house IT security department, enlist the help of cybersecurity professionals to help with creating or updating a policy. After putting in all the work that it takes to design an info security policy, you need to ensure that it makes sense and is accurate and complete.

Cyber risk management is an ongoing team effort. Your company can have the best state-of-the-art antivirus and malware protection, but humans need to understand the part they play. Employee security awareness training, repeated regularly, is an important layer of SMB cyber security. But it must all start with a detailed small business information security policy.