Are you an ostrich, a silly goose or a serious business owner?

So which are you?  When it comes to information security, serious business owners are few and far between.  Most of us tend to blow of or ignore issues affecting our business falling into one of the first two categories.

The Ostrich
What is it we always hear about how an ostrich handles a crises?  That's right he sticks his head in the sand  (That's actually a myth by the way, but it is a myth that has been ingrained in our culture).  So are you like the mythical ostrich burying your head in the sand an refusing to know the things you need to know as if it will make the magically disappear?  Not knowing will not change the fact that they effect you.  It will however leave you clueless when you find yourself face to face with a situation.  Security breaches are happening, laws are being enacted whether you like it or not.

The Silly Goose
The silly goose unlike the ostrich actually knows things exist.  However they go through their business life thinking "not me".  Or it's not important now, I'll worry about it later.  Later tends to arrive much sooner than you anticipate.  While you are finding other things to do that are more "important", you could be setting yourself up for a breach.  The silly goose realizes after the fact that he should do something.  Normally for the silly goose that something is going to be expensive by the time all of the fines, fees and lawsuits are over.

The Serious Business Owner
The serious business owner on the other hand realizes that laws are being enacted and those laws can affect their business.  The serious business owner realizes that his business has liability issues and takes steps to learn his liability and what he must to do lessen it and protect his business.  Since the serious  business owner has already taken steps to do what he must do, His clients, customers and regulatory agencies sees that he is proactive.  They see an effort to do the right thing and comply with the law.

So what should you do to be a serious business owner?
1. Know the laws that affect your business.  Realize that you don't know everything and talk to   your business attorney for clarification
2. Schedule an information security consultation
3. Create an atmosphere of information security in the workplace
4. Keep yourself current on new laws as they arise. 
5. Have a plan in place to handle a breach if it happens