If you are like most professionals, you already have some
form of security for your business.

The questions that you need to ask (and answer) for yourself
are; "Does my security system work as it is supposed to?",
and "Are my security expectations (what I hope to achieve)
the right ones for my type of business, and the assets that
I need to protect?"

If you think that the answer to the first question is a
"no-brainer", think again.

There is an old tale about the great escape artist, Harry
Houdini. While the story may be of questionable origin,
I'll risk re-telling it here to illustrate a point.

"The jail cell hasn't been built that can hold me!", said
Harry Houdini, greatest escape artist of all time. In order
to further his promotion efforts and career, Houdini had
made the claim that he could escape from any jail in two
hours or less.

Many jailers had taken him up on the challenge, and in
every case, Harry had managed his departure with time to
spare. In this latest exhibition, Houdini was confident
that he would likewise soon be free.

The jailer led Harry down the dimly lit corridor to the
waiting cell of the old jail. With a resounding clang and
a click, the shiny new door was shut, and once again the
famous captive was left to do what only he knew so well.

Now alone, Harry retrieved the pick which he had managed to
hide from his hosts, and began to work the lock on the heavy
jail cell door. A half hour passed, and surprisingly, Harry
had made no progress.

An hour flew by as Houdini focused all of his attention on
the lock, hoping to hear the tell-tale dropping of the
tumblers, the sound that would set him free.

An hour-and-a-half passed, with still no change in his
progress. Houdini now realized that he had met the most
formidable challenge of his career.

Finally, drenched in sweat from the sheer magnitude of his
efforts, Harry Houdini finally realized that for once, he
had been bested, as his self-imposed two-hour time limit
had expired.

Admitting defeat, Harry watched in disbelief as the smiling
jailer firmly gripped the door and swung it open.

The sound of the click that Houdini had heard when the door
was closed, was nothing more than a simple latch, not the
secure kind of lock that he had imagined belonged to the
new looking door.

The Great Houdini had been trying to unlock a door that
had only been locked in his mind, all along. Because of
his past successes in similar circumstances, he assumed
the obvious, and failed to test the limits of his captivity.

Just like Houdini, you will never know if your security
system works as it is supposed to work, unless you test
it on a regular basis.

When you leave for that much-needed vacation, don't you
take a few minutes to check that your home security system
works as it should? Doesn't it make sense to do the same
for your business?

Now what about your expectations? What exactly do you hope
to achieve in terms of security for your business?

In addition to security to protect your buildings, supplies
and equipment, you need to provide a means of securing
and controlling access to your all-important data.

If your expectations include building a fool-proof 100%
secure system to safeguard your data, you are expecting
too much. Even "unsinkable" ships do, in fact, sink.
Remember the Titanic?

A good data security system for ANY business, large or
small, really consists of two parts; Limiting the risk
of data loss, in the first place, and recovery of as
much data as possible after loss.

Most data loss happens in one of four ways:

1. Someone from within your company betrays your trust.
This includes current and former employees, and is a
very common problem.

2. Someone attacks you from outside of your company.
We have all heard stories of "hackers" and "crackers"
who may attack a business for the "thrill of the hunt".

3. Normal or physical hardware or software failure.
Hard drives, power supplies and sources, improper
software installations and conflicts, and much more
makes up this list.

4. Human error in creating, storing and managing data.
This is, by far, the greatest source of data loss. Failing
to properly save documents, poor filing and storage habits,
overwriting files, improper backup procedures, lack of
proper training, and more are included here.

Your expectations for securing your data will vary
SPECIFICALLY with the type of business that you have.

For example, if your business includes high-volume,
real-time online financial transactions, such as a bank
or stock brokerage firm, you should expect a higher
liklihood of attacks from without, via your network
connections.

Furthermore, if you require part-time employees, or
people who are unskilled in data entry, you might expect
to have a higher rate of data loss due to human error,
such as overwriting or not properly saving files.

Regardless of your business type, you should expect your
means of security to offer you practical control, while
being as cost effective as possible.

By paying attention to your business security needs,
by testing your established procedures for compliance,
and by taking a common-sense approach to data backups,
your security system will work as you expect it to,
and your business data will be as secure as possible.

Ralph Moore, editor of the FREE Eagle Flyer Newsletter,
Provides "Motivational, Marketing and How To Technology
Tips That Can Multiply Your Business Online".
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