Business been breached? The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is offering advice. Data breaches at businesses are on the rise and are getting plenty of attention in the news thanks to a cyber attack targeting 2,500 businesses that came to light in February, and a Google Inc. warning that it too had discovered a major attack. (read the story) More than 498 data breaches were reported in 2009, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Although that was an improvement from the 657 breaches reported during 2008, the percentage of data breaches occurring in the business sector increased 41 percent. “Even when a company takes all necessary precautions, a data breach can occur as the result of a malicious attack or employee error,” said Alison Southwick, a BBB spokeswoman, in a press release. “The key to limiting the damage — and retaining customer trust — is to develop an action plan in case a data breach does strike your business.” Each of your customer records could cost you $204 on average if compromised, according to a study released by PGP Corp. that analyzed data breaches. For small businesses, the BBB recommends these five following steps to help mitigate the damage. Train your employees to identify breaches. Immediately gather the facts of an alleged breach. Notify financial institutions. Seek outside counsel. Notify affected customers. For full descriptions of these steps, click here. For small business owners seeking additional free advice and tips on improving data security, go to www.bbb.org/data-security.