It is your responsibility as a business owner to do all that’s in your power to limit risk and keep the business thriving, not just stay afloat. But, in order to ensure business continuity, how do you reduce the possibility of a data breach, fraud, identity theft or a lawsuit?
It’s hard to predict every eventuality, but there are some steps you can take to safeguard your business from the imminent risks that companies are subject to.
Every organization, firm or conglomerate of information that can produce wealth is exposed to threats. And they’re significantly higher if your business allows for potential uncertainty about safety, profits, health, compliance, strategy, and other aspects.
If you’ve wondered what risks your business is subject to and how to protect yourself from eventual financial and moral damages you’re exposed to as an employer, you’ll get the answers to your questions in this article.
Protect your business from a lawsuit
If a manufacturer does not comply with environmental damage regulations, it may face a government fine and a tarnished reputation among stakeholders, consumers, and community members. Similarly, a company’s holding and managing employees, customers and people generally fail to protect it, causing them reputational and the like damages that can result from a data breach.
However, this topic is broad and would call for another article, but the essentials to protecting yourself from a lawsuit are the following:
– Hire an attorney on retainer
– Avoid making defamatory statements, engaging in suspicious business practices and falling victim to scams
– If you incorporate or place your company in a trust, you can protect its assets if it is sued.
– If something happens, you may be elligible to claim data breach compensation.
Claim compensation in case of a data breach
The GDPR was implemented to minimise security risks. In data breach cases, it might protect people from suffering non-material damages like stress and emotional distress or material damage like financial losses. It enables you to claim compensation from an organisation should you suffer harm due to their violation of data protection law.
A data breach claim can be brought against an organisation in the charitable, private or public sectors, and sometimes, there may be more than one defendant.
The impact of the data leakage on your company and the type of data breach you suffered determine the compensation you receive. If the process is overwhelming, you can reach out to a data breach claim solicitor to help you through the bureaucracy. What can such an expert do for you?
– Work under the No Win No Fee claim. This means they’ll only get a cut of your reimbursement if they win your case.
– Help you throughout the bureaucratic process. They’ll help you gather the necessary data to strengthen your case.
– Prove your point. You can step in and help by giving as many correct details as possible.
If you want the process to go smoothly and prove your point, follow the advice of a company specialising in data breach compensation claims in the UK. Regarding proving liability in a data breach claim, gathering evidence that shows whose fault the data leakage is critical.
To establish guilt, the defendant or, in more severe cases, the Information Commissioner’s Office may need to conduct additional investigations. For example, medical records can demonstrate psychological harm, such as anxiety or emotional distress. You should keep all medical bills and receipts from any visits to your local hospital or GP as a result of the unfortunate event. The more concrete evidence you can provide your solicitor, the better.
Analyse the risks
A business risk jeopardises a company’s financial objectives and can be classified as internal or external. An internal risk is your employees’ access to valuable data or their poor handling of the PC tools and internet, which opens the door for data leakages.
This lack of security can also pose an external risk for external data breaches. Here are the most common types of business risks to consider in your company.
1. Compliance risks. This results from a company’s noncompliance or violation of internal standards or external laws and regulations. It can cost the company money and reputation and cause it to lose customers and pay hefty fines.
2. Legal risks. This type of compliance risk occurs when a business doesn’t adhere to governmental rules for businesses. There are several types of such risks for your business:
– A contractual risk, which occurs if you fail to fulfil your business’ liabilities and obligations under the designated contract.
– A dispute risk, which can come as a consequence of a community member, stakeholder or customer interrupting a business ‘process.
– A regulatory risk, which can occur if a government regulator decides to withdraw a firm’s operating licence.
3. Strategic risks. This happens when a business’ directors don’t follow a sound business strategy and can cause a company to fall short of its objectives. To exemplify, if you own a pharmacy chain and are known for the cheapest medications, you face strategic risks when a competitor offers products at prices lower than yours.
4. Operational risks. These can happen if a company’s day-to-day operations threaten to reduce profits. There are both external and internal factors which can pose operational risks to businesses. Here are a few examples of operational risks.
– Natural disasters
– Employees making mistakes at work
– Fraud, theft by a third party and common security-related threats.
5. Security risks. A company may face cyber threats if it fails to develop or implement cybersecurity strategies. A lack of software testing, inadequate employee training, and weak security programs can all jeopardise a company’s reputation and finances.
For example, if you own an insurance company and your employees’ passwords are protected by a weak password policy, a malicious person, employee, or hacker could exploit this to gain access to sensitive data, causing the company’s profits and reputation to suffer.
The risks impact your business and can stress you out. Remember that to mitigate them, you need an effective management plan built on knowledge and expertise.
Should something threaten the security of the data your company holds, there are ways to cut on the losses suffered as you’ve seen above.
