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The key path
- Why digital access has become an overlooked risk that can kill a business like cash flow problems.
- Practical steps every founder should take now to protect their company from lockouts, losses, and preventable digital failures.
Cash flow problems have long been cited as the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs, and the most likely reason a company can go out of business. While the risks associated with managing cash flow are certainly not going away, today’s founders need to prepare for an equally important risk: losing digital access.
Losing digital access can ultimately be as devastating to your business as preventing you from accessing critical files or managing standard business operations. This is especially true with the growing number of digital resources that entrepreneurs rely on to keep their businesses running in the first place.
By understanding key digital access risks and planning accordingly, you can also protect your business if you’ve improved your cash flow management.
Related: Why are cybercriminals going after smaller targets?
Strengthen your cybersecurity efforts
Cybercriminals understand how important digital access is to most businesses – and how easy a target it can be. Ransomware attacks often attempt to lock businesses out of their devices, software or files, requiring the payment of a large ransom to regain access.
Without a strong cybersecurity plan, businesses leave themselves at greater risk of successful attacks that access and compromise data. Taking steps to strengthen cybersecurity, such as requiring authentication and authorization for all network users, keeping software and applications up-to-date and regularly backing up data, can all reduce the risk of a successful attack.
Of course, proper management of passwords and other login methods is also important to protect digital access. Businesses should set (and follow) strict standards for complex passwords, as well as use more secure login methods such as biometrics and push notifications.
Remember, a zero-trust system that limits digital access based on what an employee needs access to, along with consistent training and security protocols can help reduce risk. A successful phishing attack on a low-level employee can still compromise digital access for the entire organization if its internal network is not fully secure. Regular security audits should be part of every digital access plan.
Master your password management
Losing track of digital assets can be just as damaging as running out of money, which is why understanding the basics like crypto wallets is becoming increasingly important for modern founders. Passwords, PINs, secret recovery phrases and other private keys help prevent unauthorized access while ensuring you can securely access your accounts.
For merchants, there are two key aspects of digital access that they should consider: how to keep records of the various logins that control digital access, and how to retrieve login information when needed. This is especially true when most entrepreneurs use dozens of tools for everything from project management and scheduling to marketing and analytics.
These twin requirements make a standard password manager essential for every business, allowing you to store and encrypt all your passwords. Your password manager can include a spreadsheet with a complete list of accounts and their associated passwords, all protected by a master password. Many password managers use zero-access security and even require you to register new devices when using them.
Of course, you can also go old school with a written document that isn’t connected to any network (cloud or self-hosted). This would require a lot of work, and the list would need to be stored somewhere safe, not on your desk. Although this may seem like overkill, some level of redundancy in storing password information is a good idea in case your primary option is lost or becomes inaccessible.
Related: Every entrepreneur should add this one strategy to their playbook while building a legacy
Develop a digital succession plan
In 2019, the CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Quadrigax died unexpectedly of Crohn’s disease. Such an event would be troubling for any company, but for Quadrigax, it was devastating — the CEO was the only person with the password that provided access to $190 million in customer funds. His laptop was encrypted, and no one knew his password or recovery key. Attempts to break the encryption failed, and massive losses eventually caused the company to file for bankruptcy.
This is a simple lesson for any leader, yet it is an area that is often neglected. How many entrepreneurs have a succession plan that ensures digital access if they become incapacitated? While a CEO does not want their login information to be accessible to others on a daily basis, they simply cannot afford a scenario where no one else can access this data when needed.
As this example clearly shows, every entrepreneur should have a clearly outlined digital succession plan that ensures that passwords and other essential digital resources can be accessed by other business leaders should the worst happen. Many entrepreneurs see their business as their legacy, but without accounting for digital access as part of their succession documents, that legacy won’t last long.
Digital access is sometimes seen as an afterthought, even as the number of logins required to manage business software, data and finance has grown exponentially. Entrepreneurs can no longer afford to behave this way. By seeing digital access as important as cash flow management, entrepreneurs who become more proactive in this area will ensure their company’s ongoing operations and sustainability.
The key path
- Why digital access has become an overlooked risk that can kill a business like cash flow problems.
- Practical steps every founder should take now to protect their company from lockouts, losses, and preventable digital failures.
Cash flow problems have long been cited as the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs, and the most likely reason a company can go out of business. While the risks associated with managing cash flow are certainly not going away, today’s founders need to prepare for an equally important risk: losing digital access.
Losing digital access can ultimately be as devastating to your business as preventing you from accessing critical files or managing standard business operations. This is especially true with the growing number of digital resources that entrepreneurs rely on to keep their businesses running in the first place.
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