Information & Communication   The Value of Information   The information stored, managed and used within your business is an extremely valuable asset, yet it is unlikely to appear on your balance sheet. This is true of any type of information, regardless of whether you use computer systems or rely mainly on paper records. The value of information stored in PC-based systems can very quickly exceed the capital costs of the equipment. If you had a small fire in your office that destroyed your paper files and PC's, you could replace all the equipment quickly and easily. However, unless you have good information security you might never be able to replace the lost information and your business could fail. You should be aware that a fire is only one possible type of threat. There are many other possibilities, which can have serious consequences: Two thirds of UK businesses have suffered at least one premeditated or malicious security incident i.e. an unexpected event that could cause damage to the business. For example, changes to system hardware or software characteristics without the owner's knowledge, instruction, or consent (Department of Trade and Security (DTI) Information Security Breaches Survey, 2004). The average cost of dealing with an organisation's most serious security incident is roughly £10 000 in smaller business. The costs in larger businesses are greater (DTI Information Security Breaches Survey, 2004). It takes 29 per cent of businesses between two and ten person-days to respond to their worst incident, but some businesses have security incidents that take more than 50 person-days to address (DTI Information Security Breaches Survey, 2004). Small investments of time and money can achieve large improvements in information security. Much of what you need is simple common sense and good management practise. Businesses operate in an environment with increasingly powerful ways of manipulating and storing information. This is matched by growing threats to that information. Businesses need to manage their information so that they get the best value from it, and minimise the risks of losing it.   Information security is necessary to ensure that your business can continue to operate effectively and profitably. Without it your business is, at worst in serious risk of failure or, at least, in danger of losing customers.