Plan, train & protect
With high-profile data breaches regularly hitting the headlines, it’s essential for every business to take action to protect their customers’ data. From restricting physical access to your computer systems to using high-tech data encryption tools, you can reduce your risk of becoming the latest victim of cyber criminals. Follow these four tips to improve data security in your company.
Encrypt Data
Data encryption is an essential technology for any business that handles sensitive data, such as credit card details or medical information. Encryption software scrambles the text in a file, making it look like garbage to anyone who copies the file from a stolen hard drive or intercepts it while it is being sent over the Internet. Only the intended recipient of the data can unscramble the text and read the file normally.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
If a criminal manages to log into your company’s computer system, they could cause serious damage to your network or steal sensitive data. A good way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to require your employees to use two-factor authentication to log into their work accounts. In addition to asking for a password, a system using two-factor authentication also requires an employee to input a code, which is sent via SMS or email. In order to circumvent this system, a data thief would have to not only guess the employee’s password but also gain access to their mobile device or email account.
Provide Data Security Training For Employees
Even if you have strong security systems in place, a data breach could still occur if your employees don’t follow company policies correctly. For example, employees may use weak passwords that are easy to guess, copy sensitive data onto USB sticks so they can work with it at home, give outsiders access to your company premises, or leave company laptops or mobile devices in places where criminals can access them. Training sessions can help to eliminate these irresponsible behaviors by educating all employees on the importance of data security.
Make a Damage Limitation Plan
A skilled and determined hacker can break into the security systems of even the most well-protected company. Therefore, you should have a plan in place to reduce the damage if a data breach occurs. This may involve installing security software that will alert administrators immediately if it looks like data has been stolen, as well as ensuring that all data is backed up so it isn’t lost in the event of a data breach.
