Imagine yourself in the Stone Age – you live by a Periodically Review Business river, go fishing, and keep all your catches beside you on a rock until it’s time to return to the cave every day. Things would be perfect until one day, as you’re fishing, you realize that all your catches are no longer beside you. Maybe a thief took them, or a wave silently washed them over, or the fishes were playing dead. Whatever the reason may be, you’d be filled with distraught, realizing your assumed ‘safe’ rock is no longer safe.
In the 21st century, this analogy holds true for business account owners. A business person may not be strict enough about periodically inspecting business account policies until an avoidable incident occurs.
These incidents could be:
1. Hacking/Phishing/DoS Attack: Subpar security standards of a business account can increase the susceptibility of account owners facing malicious cyberattacks. Sensitive customer data may be disclosed and sold off illegally by those who initiate the attack. Such data breaches may lead to long-lasting reputational damages that impact sales and overall business performance.
2. Unauthorized Transactions: If the account provider doesn’t mandate strict encryptions and authorization procedures on all accounts, business accounts could easily be accessed by unauthorized individuals from within or outside the organization. Unauthorized transactions may be conducted under the hood for personal benefit.
3. Account Takeover: Lack of proper access controls can lead to even authorized individuals viewing more than they’re supposed to. Account takeovers increase the risk of unusual activity.
Those were a few of the many reasons that reinforce the idea of reviewing the security features of your business accounts. Continuing on that note, here’s how to carry out a review effectively:
1. Read the fine print and security specifications:
Reading the terms, conditions, and features isn’t something that should be done only when opening a business account. Pay particular attention to changes in user access, data processing, storage, and handling.
2. Stay updated with cyber news and trends:
Keep an eye on the latest developments in cybersecurity – new algorithms, tools, or anything else that could override the intelligence of even the most malicious hacker. Check if your business account provider uses any of those measures or is planning to integrate them into the product.
Likewise, keep your ears and eyes open to headlines that highlight cyberattacks. Malicious individuals continuously improvise to outsmart the current security systems. If any attack method seems to be plausible for your account data, be prompt to dig deep and uncover ways to safeguard your business account.
3. Be open to discussions:
Contemplating the news of cyberattacks or fraud may engulf you in anxiety. This is why asking for opinions is always recommended.
Yet, sometimes, the threat may not knock from the outside. Full access to too many employees can make it difficult to track accountability for changes and understand their reasons. This could lead to confusion and security risks. For example, an employee from outside the financial team may be able to view the full account data, even though their role may not even slightly involve that. Deciding how much access to give to different members of a company can be challenging. Thus, discussing and brainstorming ideas with others would be the best way forward.
To conclude, assessing the viability of a business account provider’s policies is an unofficial obligation that business owners should periodically fulfill for the financial safety of their ventures. Careful assessment entails comparing the strength of existing or new features with emerging cyber threats and knowing about the access provided to different stakeholders.
