As a member of the Retail Solution Provider Association (RSPA), we have access to legal documents and other security resource.

And while we hope that this never happens to anyone - the reality is that small businesses are primary targets for breaches and incidents are on the rise.

Below is a quick checklist provided by RSPA  for reference if you feel your business has been compromised (step number one - avoid a breach!):

Data Breaches, ID Theft, Credit Card Breaches - we hear this all the time in the news.  And this is the last thing you as an owner or manager want to experience for your business!

Please take time to read this!  It could save your business!

Data breach - those two words can (and should) scare the heck out of business owners.  It is everywhere in the news.  I think on some level, people are just throwing their hands up in the air at this point.  However, we don't want our customers to go through this experience - no one wants the CIA showing up at their back door or having their funds frozen because of a suspected breach.

To help you understand the impacts, we wanted to share this article by Justin Zeigler, the director of product development and marketing at Datacap Systems.  (Datacap Systems develops integrated payment interfaces for any type Point of Sale Application - so they are very in tune with security for point of sale systems.)  In this article, he discusses:

• What Is a Data Breach and How Do They Most Commonly Occur?
• What Can  You Expect When a Breach Occurs? What Are the Steps?
• Who Is Liable?
• Best Practices to Prevent Breaches and Mitigate Liability
• Using a QIR (Qualified Integrators and Resellers) Certified Reseller

As a business owner, it is vital to understand the effects of a breach on your business, your customers and your employees.

Read this eye opening article below: