10/05/2007
NFIB teamed up with Visa USA recently to educate small-business owners about the actions they can take to protect their employees' and customers' sensitive data in the workplace. At a Sacramento, Calif., event, more than 40 NFIB members learned how to protect their important information and secure their systems from security breaches.
According to a study conducted by NFIB and Visa, 57 percent of small businesses don't view securing customer data as something that requires formal planning, and 61 percent have never sought out information about how to properly handle and store customer information. But protecting customer information isn't just the right thing to do, it makes good business sense--78 percent of consumers said they would stop shopping at a store following a data breach that might have compromised their card account information.
To help small-business owners learn to protect their business data, NFIB recently released the NFIB Guide to Data Security: How to Protect Your Business and Your Customers From Data Fraud. The guide is designed to help small-business owners reduce their risk of losing customer information to identity thieves and other fraud artists, and is available to download as a benefit of membership to all NFIB members. Non-members can download the guide for $5.95.
At the Sacramento event, California's director of consumer affairs, Carrie Lopez, said her department works to educate and protect consumers and small businesses from data-security crimes. Lopez said businesses should contact her department for assistance with data-security crimes.
Kelly Brothers, KFBK morning show host and partner with Genovese, Forman, Burford and Brothers, moderated a panel of experts including small-business owner Griselda Barajas, Brian Korbs with the U.S. Secret Service, Jennifer Fischer with Visa USA and Joseph Finizio with Retail Solutions Providers Association.
