Operating a small online business gives you the opportunity to be your own boss and work from any remote location, including home. While it can be very successful if you put in the time and energy to advertise it properly, it also comes with its own set of risks. These risks tend to be quite different from a local brick and mortar business and you should be aware of them so you know how to protect yourself from them.
Frequent Updates
Expect to perform updates frequently to your website and server, especially website security updates. If you fail to do so, it could mean losing information or having outdated information, which can even cause a security or data breach in some cases.
Sharing Access
Another risk of owning your online business involves sharing login and access information with others. If you choose to share access with others, such as with your web designer or server host, you risk possible attacks and cyber crimes. Instead, keep your login and password to analytics for your website, website host account information, back-end logins, domain name and social media account passwords, and local account access private. If you have an administrator that needs this information, have them sign a confidentiality agreement.
Financial and Confidential Information
When you own and operate your own online business, you are responsible for any data or information your customers and clients choose to share with you. This means any personal, financial or confidential information they share over your website enables a hacker to steal their credit card information, you become liable for any theft that occurs. The same can be said for a data breach where someone’s confidential information is stolen.
Problems With Orders
Another risk involves problems with orders. Many online businesses sell goods to be delivered, and issues with orders can become your responsibility. If a very expensive camera or piece of electronic equipment was ordered from your online store and it gets lost during shipment, you have to send another one to the customer.
Cyber Crimes
Finally, one of your biggest risks with operating and online business is cyber crime. Hackers can get into your system and steal log-ins, passwords, and private information from your customers or cause a virus on your website that infects computers of everyone who visits your website. This causes legal and financial implications and must be protected.
Most types of insurance will not adequately protect cyber attack, which is why you need to consider cyber liability insurance.
