Business Security Measures

Business theft is a big problem, even for small businesses. Fortunately, business security measures and security systems exist to help you minimize your losses to business theft. Whether your small business security needs revolve around employee theft, retail theft of merchandise, identity theft protection, data and information security, general corporate security, or any other type of protection, now is the time to conduct a security assessment and begin protecting your business assets.

Common Business Security Measures
Let's look at some of the most common business security systems or measures that you can implement in your business theft prevention efforts:

1. Business Security Cameras
   A security camera (or surveillance camera) can be used to protect against a variety of types of business theft including retail theft, employee theft of office supplies, and can even offer information security by showing you who is accessing certain areas, rooms, or terminals. For example, to prevent retail theft, a business security camera might be used on the store exterior to monitor any suspicious activity as well as who enters and exits the store. Another business security camera might be inside the store, pointing at the cash register to deter employees from stealing cash from the till or under-charging for merchandise, preventing employee theft.
   
   Cameras can also be used throughout your store to monitor customer behavior (such as making sure they aren't taking and attempting to hide merchandise -- providing proof of shoplifting).
   
   Business security cameras aren't only valuable in the retail world. They can also be used in any situation where employees will be handling or counting large sums of cash (banks, cash rooms, etc.) to ensure employee honesty, or where corporate security requires limited access to areas of the property.
   
   

2. Business Security Systems / Alarm Systems
   An alarm or security system can be a deterrent from external business theft, especially in situations where cash is regularly "out in the open" between employees and customers (again, such as in banks or retail locations). Alarm systems and other business security systems also play an important role in protecting against business theft after normal business hours (such as automatically alerting the police if an intruder breaks into the store or office when employees aren't around.
    

3. Security Guards
   If your business deals with extremely valuable items or has extensive information security needs (which could be anything from high-end jewelry to important industry trade secrets), it might be a good idea to have a security guard on the premises. Security guards can offer protection after hours in addition to an alarm or security system, or provide both theft prevention and employee protection services during normal working hours. Security guards can help to catch instances of employee theft, retail theft, or offer general corporate security - they're a versatile business security option.
    

4. Business Network Security / Computer Security / Information Security
   Many, if not most, businesses relying on computers don't allow employees to save anything on an individual computer's hard drive for information security reasons. Instead, everything is saved to a network. This allows the company to monitor all files created, saved, and edited within the system, while tracking who accessed files at what time.
   
   These information security measures ensure employees don't copy internal documents to a personal disk (a type of employee theft not all business owners think about). One of the last things any business wants is for their marketing strategy or financial details to end up in the hands of competitors. Even if you run a very small business with just a handful of computers, it's worth considering setting up a network that can be monitored to protect the information of the business (and your customers) from either malicious behavior like blatant employee theft or even innocent mistakes of employees.
    

5. Internet Security
   With companies increasingly doing business on the Web, are you making an effort to protect your customers' data? Information security goes beyond files stored on the corporate network. With the lingering fear of identity theft, many consumers won't do business online with any company not using secure servers - in other words, any private data a customer sends to you online should be encrypted to stop third parties from being able to intercept and view it (such as credit card details).
   
   This type of information security has become entirely standard for any company conducting business on the Web, and those companies choosing to ignore it make their customer data susceptible to hackers (risking lawsuits, lost business, and a PR nightmare if information gets into the wrong hands and the public finds out).
    

If you don't feel confident enough to implement new business security systems yourself, consider hiring a security consultant who can come in and do a thorough business security assessment, recommending security measures that best fit your needs within your budget.