Data Privacy Day: Button Up Your Defenses

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

We’re fast approaching International Data Privacy Day: January 28. This event, hopefully, will spur businesses and individuals to think about just how safe their data is — and hopefully, take action to address any protection shortcomings.  

Here in New England, it’s also an excellent time to assess our own data security. Regrettably, as the National Cyber Security Alliance points out, millions “are unaware of and uninformed about how their personal information is being used, collected or shared in our digital society.” 

As this blog just recently noted, the risks of cyber/web crime are going up, with hackers and other similar criminals using ever-more powerful techniques and technologies against us. According to the “Boston Business Journal,” in 2019, the Bay State alone saw 605,000 of its residents have their private data exposed by breaches. That is up by roughly a third from 2018, when 443,000 Massachusetts citizens were affected. 

Commercial and Private Data Dangers 

As individuals, we face many risks caused by hackers or by our own revelations through social media platforms and the like. If our data is vulnerable anonymous identity thieves can victimize us easily. They can break into a less-than-diligent retail chain’s server to steal our credit card number and make purchases on our dime. This is bad enough.  

However, some individuals and businesses also hold other people’s data — such as client or patient Social Security information or other identifiers. These organizations may also face legal repercussions for failing to take proactive action to protect all third-party data.  

Massachusetts law dictates any data breach of third party data must be reported to state agencies, and to “any consumers whose data is at risk.” This can damage your professional reputation and lead to loss of income, among other negative results.  

Read more →

Enjoy Small Business Saturday Securely and Successfully

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Since its launch in 2010, Small Business Saturday has given smaller retailers and other local firms a chance to compete against the major online powerhouses, such as Amazon. As one of these smaller companies, you want to make the day as successful as possible.

That means using every tool and platform available. Ensure all your goods and cyber assets are secure, and your personnel both honest and competent. This way, you’ll increase your chance to end the day in the black and not the red.

Small Business: Big Results

The event has had a real-world impact throughout New England and the rest of the United States. In 2018, it drove nearly $18 billion in sales, according to the National Federation of Small Business (NFSB).

That’s not too surprising when you realize that there are:

  • About 28.8 million U.S-based small businesses
  • And these represent 99.7% of all U.S. businesses

Read more →

School Vandalism is Costly: Security Systems Can Help

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

School is back in session, which means school vandalism unfortunately tends to rise accordingly. Surveillance and security solutions can help school administrators to deter or resolve such incidents.

School-related vandalism — a type of crime involving any damage or defacement of school property — is a real problem in Massachusetts and beyond. According to the Vandalism at School website, the annual price tag to remedy this kind of crime runs at around $8 billion nationally.

Read more →

Restaurant Employees Take Big Bites of Their Companies’ Profits

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

New England’s small- and medium-sized restaurants (and other businesses) face a persistent internal problem: employee theft. Luckily, there are measures you can take to prevent it.

National statistics of employee-on-employer crime are sobering, according to a Forbes article. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of employees have stolen from their employers at least once. Companies with 150 employees or less are particularly vulnerable to internal financial or data theft, as well as other similar crimes.

The Chamber also determined that roughly 30 percent of business failures are caused by employee fraud and abuse. The toll of workplace thieving to the United States economy is some $50 billion annually, says a CNBC article (citing a statistic from Statistic Brain).

Cash on Tap in Restaurant Business

Because the bar and restaurant industry is often a cash business with few paper trails — one that relies heavily on people-intensive processes — there is an especially high risk of employee fraud and outright theft. There are many vulnerable points, from servers to wait staff, bartenders to kitchen help, all the way to the back office employees.

Read more →

Parents with College Students: Protect Your Child’s Property

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The fall semester is about to begin, bringing students into Boston and other New England venues. They’ll be fair game for thieves looking to make a quick profit.

These young students may be informal about security and less than diligent in securing their premises, and crooks respond accordingly. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2016, there were 12,000 burglaries on-campus — which represents 42 percent of all criminal incidents on campuses or at post-secondary institutions.

Light Security = Student Thefts

Not that thieves must wait until fall classes are in session. Just last July, the Boston University newspaper noted a rash of fraternity house burglaries in Boston’s Kenmore Square area, near Boston University’s east campus. The thieves entered the occupants’ rooms in the frat houses and lifted bikes, laptops, wallets, a PlayStation and electronic gear. As the article explained, “The fraternity houses frequently sublet rooms during the summer months, and security can be lax.”

Students have a hard time with their finances without having to cope with robbery, too. Besides tuition and room and board, books and various school supplies alone can run students $1,168 annually, says a Forbes columnist. Factor in theft, and that can put a major hole in a young scholar’s budget — and the loss of a laptop can be an irreplaceable problem.

Read more →

Security for the Health-Care World

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

In a perfect world, patients and health-care professionals could devote all of their time to the healing process. A variety of factors hinder that process in today’s health-care facilities,  most notably the opioid epidemic.

A recent Boston 25 News piece notes how Massachusetts Emergency Room nurses are particularly at risk. They face both physical and verbal abuse from opiate-intoxicated patients. A 2018 survey by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) notes that 69 percent of local nurses were assaulted by their patients during the prior two years.

This is just one area of vulnerability. Read more →

5 Great Tech Reasons For A Business Security Update

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

You probably don’t spend much time thinking about your building’s security infrastructure, but it may be time you did.

Many property/business owners buy and install security solutions and then forget all about them. As with all high tech products and services, a security solution cannot run permanently on autopilot. It needs a bit of care and tending. Read more →

Commercial Security Done Right Demands Insight

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Proper commercial security is a necessity for every type of business, whether you’re in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area offering cutting edge therapies or run retail shops on Newbury Street.

However, the specific demands of New England’s big verticals (which include health care, government, and education, to name a few) are all different. Security and protection (which includes environmental and other safeguards) can also vary by region. Read more →

Holiday Season Thieves Threaten Small Businesses

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

This time of year in New England, small businesses are at special risk from thieves looking to cash in on the busy Christmas season. To be as safe as possible owners of these businesses can take special safety precautions, including the addition of alarms, and video surveillance and monitoring solutions.

Sadly, not everyone has peace on earth and goodwill to all in mind during the holiday season. A variety of crimes increase in frequency this time of year, especially shoplifting. This is a particular threat to small business owners of all sorts — particularly seasonal businesses who have extra merchandise, personnel and cash on hand.

Read more →

Protecting the New England Holiday Retail Industry

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

As the holiday retail season approaches, retailers and supermarket owners of all sizes in New England must defend themselves against theft. As a retailer, there are many steps you can take, including adding electronic surveillance systems throughout your store.

While the holiday season provides 34 percent of annual retail sales, it also accounts for 37 percent of yearly shrinkage, as a Forbes article notes. The biggest contributors to shrinkage are shoplifting and employee theft. Read more →