Cover Story
“The more prepared you are,” said Poneman “the less likely you are to be in a ‘disaster’ situation. Companies [exist] that can provide plans that tell you what to do, when to do it, how to do it and who to contact, and have tools to help you. It is important to consider the impact of the breached data lost rather than at company size; there are a lot of required measures that must be taken as follow up that would be very costly.” Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Springfield, Ill., does not have a written disaster plan of its own, said Barbara Seidman, but does “contract with a local technology company that takes care of any and all computer issues, including breaches. This is an ever-evolving challenge.” Burt cautions fellow retailers, “Don’t assume anything. Always look at your system and check it. You have got to keep your eyes on it all the time. It’s a fact of life.”
Sue Masaracchia-Roberts is a freelance writer, editor, and public relations consultant based in Chicago. She has more than 25 years of experience in public relations and writing. Her specialties are the fields of manufacturing and small business.
5 No-Brainers
To Avoid Getting Hacked 1.
Log Out. It’s not enough to click to another website. Log out to ensure your account is closed. 2. Update passwords. Replaced passwords quarterly, and make them complex (upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols). 3. Lock it down. If you offer your customers free Wi-Fi (and you should), do it on a separate network from your store network. 4. Resist clicking. If you get an email or pop-up message asking for personal information, don’t reply or click on the link in the message. 5. Stop downloading. It’s an easy way for hackers to infiltrate from unknown sites. Make a company policy.
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