Reputation is everything and with personal and workplace communications continuously merging, it is becoming an even greater challenge for SMBs to protect their business data. With newsmakers such as WikiLeaks and other high-profile breaches over the last several months, you never know where your information will end up if it lands in the wrong hands – so of course, you must protect it.

According to the sixth annual Ponemon report, 2010 Annual Study: U.S. Cost of a Data Breach, sponsored by Symantec, for the first time, malicious or criminal attacks are no longer the least common cause of data breaches, but they are the most expensive. While malicious attacks are on the rise, organizations are more proactively protecting themselves from hostile threats. But, this shouldn’t overshadow the impact that negligence has on an organization. Negligence remains the most common cause of data breaches at 41 percent.

These...

For most people, Valentine’s Day conjures up thoughts of candy, flowers and secret admirers. Well, here at Symantec, it makes us think about information. Yes, information. It may not be the most romantic notion, but the amount of “love” you give your data can have a significant impact on the success of your company. Your information – from company plans to customer financial information – is the backbone of your business, so today make a commitment to giving it a little extra care and attention.

In a recent Symantec survey, 74% of SMB respondents said they were afraid of losing electronic information. The same survey revealed that 65% of SMBs have actually lost laptops, smartphones or iPads in the last year, many of which had no password protection and couldn’t be wiped remotely to protect the information on them. In addition, 73% of SMBs surveyed were victims of...

Today is Data Privacy Day and it’s a good time for small businesses to consider how you are protecting your business and customer information. With recent threats like Wikileaks and various attacks targeted at stealing banking credentials, Data Privacy Day couldn’t have come at a better time. I encourage you to celebrate this day by looking at your data privacy practices and considering what you need to do to keep your customers’ personal and financial information safe.

So much of our valuable business information resides on computers, so I’m not surprised that our Symantec 2010 SMB Information Protection Survey found that almost three-quarters of small businesses are somewhat/extremely concerned about the loss of crucial business information. This concern is based on experience – 42 percent have actually...

In life I have found that there are two types of people: those who are prepared, and those who are not. I of course have found that being prepared is the only way to go – being on time for an event, checking directions before you leave the house or tuning into the weather channel before a trip can save so much time and headache. However, there are those who run around unprepared and are virtually behind on everything.

In business, it is no different. Being prepared is essential – especially when there is critical information to consider. Through the recent SMB Disaster Preparedness study that Symantec conducted, we found that most people don’t have a plan for disasters until it is too late. This isn’t a good sign as disasters can affect IT in all forms. While many think of floods, hurricanes, snowstorms or earthquakes when they hear the word disaster, it can also come in internal forms, like spilling coffee on...