Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies, 5th Edition

Chapter 2

Developing a Plan: Security and Business Continuity

IN THIS CHAPTER

Forging a realistic plan

Making an investment in security

Tapping into the experts

Each year, businesses suffer millions of dollars in loss due to unexpected events ranging from security breaches to natural disasters. The first step in protecting your business from a costly computer invasion or minimizing the impact from a catastrophe is developing a plan. Your plan doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. However, you do need to give your business continuity plan (how you respond after disaster strikes) and security strategy (how you prevent issues from occurring) more than a passing thought. In fact, put your plan on paper so that you and your employees have a written plan of action.

As an online business, it makes sense to invest time into protecting you and your customers from hackers and cybercrooks with topnotch online security. Equally important, even if you don’t have a bricks-and-mortar location, is preparing for events that can compromise your network infrastructure, disrupt product deliveries, destroy inventory, and more. Trust us, there is a lot that can go wrong (think blizzards, earthquakes, ...