SME Q3 2018

SME NEWS / Q3 2018 5 NEWS , Thanks to technolo- gies like blockchain, the pace of invest- ment is faster than ever. But with many smaller investors looking for a less volatile alternative to cryp- tocurrency trading, alternative finance (AF) providers such as Debitum Network are emerging as a smarter choice for those looking to balance their invest- ments. Diversification and flexibility will be key in 2019 – and these are the four trends small investors can’t afford to ignore: 1. Become a lender For those in search of more pre- dictable returns – or simply want- ing to rebalance their investment portfolio – investing in small busi- ness loans can deliver a signifi- cant benefit: returns come in the form of regular interest payments, rather than relying on the perfor- mance of stocks, or on currency or commodity prices. 2. Think global Until recently, most lending took place between lenders and bor- rowers located in the same coun- try or market. Practicalities such as money transfer mechanisms and the difficulties of meeting, assessing risks and negotiating a loan agreement made cross-bor- der lending difficult. Debitum Net- work’s self-contained ecosystem makes it easy for investors of all sizes to make loans to business- es around the world – all man- aged from the investor’s easy online dashboard 3. Get the bigger picture about blockchain Blockchain has been a buzzword in investment circles for several years now – but there’s more to blockchain technology than Bit- coin and cryptocurrency trading. Debitum Network allows investors to explore other benefits of the decentralised technology, which makes investing faster, easier and more reliable. 4. Stay flexible After a big year for the stock mar- ket in 2017, there are indications that the crypto market may be slowing down. Smarter investors are looking to rebalance their portfolios – and that means stay- ing flexible. Debitum Network allows investors to spread their money. Individual investments don’t require a huge stake – investors can begin with as little as 50 EUR. And unlike traditional lending, investors don’t need to fund the whole of a loan amount themselves. They can opt to fund a part of the borrower’s to- tal loan amount, enabling them to co- fund multiple loans with other investors. Short-term loans on Debitum Network mature be- tween 2 and 6 months, providing investors with the flexibility they need without tying up money in the long term. From Cross-Border Lending To The Other Side Of Blockchain - Four Key Trends For Small Investors In 2019 Four key trends that small investors need to take into account over the comingmonths. cedures, promoted by a virtual online security officer as part of an information security manage- ment system, takes away much of the time-consuming adminis- tration burden. Even organisations that cannot afford a full time inhouse security specialist can seek the services of an online service to guide them through the complex, emerging safety procedures and protocols to improve their online securi- ty and reduce the risk of cyber threats. 2.Education and awareness train- ing – as revealed in the Cyber security breaches survey 2017, phishing emails and malware are the two biggest threats to organ- isations. Both of these exploit human behaviour, so it’s vital that staff are trained to recognise the threat and respond appropriately. Similarly, accidental breaches, privilege misuse and data loss are all the result of employees not understanding their information security obligations. Educating staff on the ways they could put data at risk helps organisations turn one of their biggest vulner- abilities (people) into an area of strength. 3.Identify your risks - a risk as- sessment is one of the first tasks an organisation should complete when preparing its cyber secu- rity programme. Identifying the risks that can affect the confiden- tiality, integrity and availability of information is a time-consuming process. However, by identifying threats and vulnerabilities organi- sations can take steps to mitigate by prioritising which risks need to be addressed in which order. Without an assessment, organi- sations may miss vulnerabilities or waste time, effort and resourc- es addressing events that are unlikely to occur or won’t cause significant damage. 4.Regular reviews – policies and procedures are the documents that establish an organisation’s rules for handling data. Policies provide a broad outline of the or- ganisations principles, whereas procedures detail the how, what and when things should be done. Together they provide a frame- work of do’s and don’ts for the organisation’s workforce on how data should be managed and trains employees to offset social engineering campaigns that are one of the main causes of a data breach. A good information security man- agement system will provide pol- icies and procedures that ensure regular reviews are conducted with all employees to ensure they are up to date and policies re- main effective. If a procedure isn’t working, it needs to be rewritten. 5.The wonders of a dashboard – assessing progress and moni- toring improvements is essential to maintaining an organisation’s security posture. A dashboard simplifies the process by provid- ing a central location for all plans, policies, best practice advice and employee training informa- tion. Good dashboard software should guide companies through complex safety procedures and protocols, display compliance progress against selected stand- ards including GDPR as well as online security training videos for continual staff training. A visual traffic light system soon lets busi- ness leaders know just how well prepared their organisation is to prevent a data breach or cyber attack. It’s time for SMEs to act By underestimating the true im- pact a cyber attack can have on their reputation and the disruption caused while management re- mediate the situation, small busi- nesses are putting themselves at significant commercial risk. Now more than ever it is essential for SMEs to take action and reduce the risk of cyber threats. Without adequate protection they are risk- ing their future business growth and development. Managing risk from inside the or- ganisation is vital and relies upon the application of a consistent set of policies and processes, backed up by continual employee training. By using an information security management system SMEs can benefit from robust, best-practice policies to help keep their organisations safe.