Can you afford to be hacked? Or a breach.. most of us who are small business owners, gig workers, artists, entrepreneurs 85% of us will not be in business after one happens.
What can we do about it? It depends where it all starts is someone sending you a Dear…. I’ve hacked your website and if you want it back pay me $ in bitcoins or a certain amount of cash. Many people think this is real, it’s not so quit paying attention to it. Just delete it. AND don’t pay them.
Last week for Small Business Week in Washington, DC I had the privilege to go and learn how to lobby and ask our senators to re-write a National Privacy Policy Bill so that small business owners, gig workers, solo practitioners will be able to read and understand how they will protect themselves, if ever someone got hacked or there is a breach. We need Washington leaders to help us to stay safe. We can’t afford the latest software or expensive consultants or lawyers.
It costs roughly $30,000 to recover from a breach for Small Business Owners (SBO), when it does happen 85% of us will be closing our doors. This action leaves us in peril.
We can no longer ask the Social Media platforms to tell us when there is one or expect them to protect us. Many times like Equifax or other credit bureaus, or Facebook or LinkedIn or our credit processors don’t tell their customers/users until after the fact. I know as a SBO, I rely on the platforms I use to tell me, just like if my business is affected I really need to tell my customers if they have been affected as soon as possible.
80% of small businesses use many major technology platforms everyday to provide information, communicate with our customers and suppliers. 85% of us have increased our profitability. Lower costs versus the traditional advertising methods. I’ll write more about this in my next weeks post.
Some states have written their own policies, California’s new privacy policy is very rough, needs to be rewritten, in Washington failed to get approval. If each state had their own policy imagine needing to know what each state requires us to know before we are in compliance to do business or have customers there? This is why a national policy is needed. Who has the time to investigate? I don’t.
Digital marketing is what small businesses depend upon to get more customers and to expand our reach. If these platforms are not available, then how can we grow and find more customers? Digital marketing includes, newsletters, videos, social media, advertising, websites and anything that requires the internet.
The Connected Commerce Council flew in 27 small business owners into Washington DC to lobby for the small business owners on this hot topic. We showed our faces, who are we, what we do and why we need the Senators and Committees to know what kind of support we expect from them. The Connected Commerce Council is an Advocacy & Educational non-profit who represents small business owners.
We need a national written policy to protect us, want to make your voice count?
- Start by writing to your congressman or calling their office telling them you want a national privacy bill written for all small business owners like you.
2. Join the connectedcommercecouncil.org become a member and get educated.
California Bill https://www.macobserver.com/analysis/california-privacy-bill/
