Data breaches within companies are growing at a staggering rate, according to several recent reports. Coca-Cola admitted earlier in the year that an ex-employee removed 55 laptops containing 74,000 individual records over the years, without being noticed by management.

It's not just the industry giants that are worried about insider threats: in a survey conducted by SecureData of more than 100 SME IT professionals, it was found that security management strategies for staff members were lacking within companies. And 60% of survey participants listed negligence of employees as the biggest cyber security threat to their businesses.

Also, with globalization of small businesses, employees are coming from different cultural backgrounds. This means a company might not be able to conduct clearer background checks on the employee, thereby increasing the chances that new recruits might misuse internal systems.

As a small business owner, you need to take proactive steps to prevent such breaches. Here are some of the ways to safeguard your business against insider threats:

Keep systems up to date

Employees are often labeled as the primary source for insider breaches, but another cause is the outdated systems with old software and antivirus programs. Outdated software and unpatched programs make business systems more vulnerable to cyber security breaches.

So it is important to keep all software patched and up-to-date with virus protection software and programs that combat malware and spam. According to Trend Micro, the most suitable programs and solutions for small to medium sized businesses are the ones that offer a complete suite of web, BYOD, data and insider threat protection.

Manage policies for bring-your-own-device

The number of small businesses embracing the BYOD trend is on the rise, but only a few companies realize the threat these devices pose to company security. The loss of devices including laptops, smartphones, and tablets have already resulted in huge consequences and security breach fines for private sector and government sector companies.

Your business should establish a BYOD device privacy policy that educates employees on their device responsibilities; for instance, the IT department should specify the type of apps employees can download on their devices, and the official business accounts that are permitted for access from personal devices.

Employee education programs

Employee education can go a long way to reduce insider threats. Education can involve providing resources to employees that teach them about online and social media vulnerabilities and the steps they could take to ensure maximum security protection.

The management can even conduct meetings and seminars to teach employees about common employee vulnerabilities such as social engineering. Business owners who have their hands full can even deploy an online course that self-educates employees on email phishing, keylogger beaches, and weak password disadvantages (the prevention of data beaches can easily cover the cost of developing such a course).

Periodic risk assessment

Conducting regular audits and risk assessment tests can help in pointing out how a change in employee practices alters risk levels and liabilities. It will also to determine whether hiring new employees give rise to new areas of risk or does not affect risk levels.

If a third-party is called in to conduct a second audit, make sure to go through their policies to ensure that they comply with your business policies when it comes to information security and data privacy.