Source: Elaine Pofeldt, CreditCards.com

It's getting a lot trickier for small-business owners to keep customers' credit card information safe from criminals. Still, there are steps you can take. They're not free, but if you consider the damage a security breach can inflict on your business, they're usually a worthwhile investment.

You need look no further than the headlines to see how widespread data security problems have become. In the autumn of 2012, thieves reportedly hacked the point-of-sale systems at 63 Barnes & Noble stores in nine states, leading to an FBI investigation. The bookseller turned off all 7,000 keypads in its stores and found that only one keypad in each store had been hacked. Nevertheless, the company removed all 7,000 of them.

Read Full Article: Hackers up the ante for small-business data security