Preparing for a Disaster

Planning ahead to prevent the loss of important financial information is critical to reducing the cost and time needed to recover from a disaster.  A disaster can be large or small and can be natural or man-made.  Examples include an earthquake, fire, flood, computer hacking, accidental deletion, and identity theft.  In addition to planning for your business, be sure to also include your personal finances and digital libraries.  Good practices and safeguards I recommend include:

• Offsite computer file back-up.  For home computer backup, consider an online service such as Mozy.com that automatically backs up your data several times a day.
• Computer firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware programs that are kept current with at least weekly scans.
• Email spam and phishing filters.  Also, be sure never to click on suspicious file attachments, even if the email is sent by someone you know.  I will occasionally receive dangerous email attachments from friends who have had their email address book hacked.
• Use a login password to access your computer with a screen-saver that will re-lock your computer after a period of inaction, such as 10 minutes.
• Do not let the internet browser save your usernames and passwords associated with your financial accounts.  Keep your usernames and passwords private.  Use the "InPrivate Browsing" feature when using public-access computers, and then be sure to completely logout of the site and clear the browsing history.
• Use paperless statements and automatic bill paying services.  This eliminates private information from sitting in your mail box and paper statements from being accessible at home.  Shred old records and scan those that you wish to keep.
• Don't give out personal or financial information over the phone or email unless you initiated the contact or know who you dealing with.  Remember the IRS and your financial institutions won't contact you for such information.  They already have it!
• Make a video recording of your home, your valuables and business equipment for insurance purposes.
• Plan for how you will contact your customers, employees and family members, and where you will meet.
• Have available 72-hour emergency kits with some food, water, lighting, shelter, and medical supplies.
• Learn how to perform CPR and to handle minor medical emergencies.

Several good resources are available with information to help you take action to prepare for disasters.

• Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Site:  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft//
• Utah Government Identity Theft Reporting Information System (IRIS):  http://www.idtheft.utah.gov/
• Internal Revenue Service:  http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=180547,00.html
• Be Ready Utah:  http://bereadyutah.gov/
• U.S. Homeland Security:  http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm
• American Red Cross:  http://www.redcross.org/
• Small Business Administration:  http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/disasterpreparedness/index.html