In a time when cybercrime is on the rise, businesses need to be doing all that they can to protect their data. Data protection is something that all businesses need to do by law, but it is also for your continued success and to maintain a positive reputation.
Consumers put their trust in organizations to protect their data, so, what are a few of the best steps that a business can take to step up their data protection? There are all kinds of effective ways to do this that will give you peace of mind and stop any data issues from interfering with your business.
Security Audit
A good starting point is to carry out a security audit. A security audit will help to identify any existing weaknesses in your current security system, so that you can identify the areas that need to be improved. Businesses have had to adapt to remote work, so you might find that there are vulnerabilities that you were not aware of and need to be addressed as soon as possible.
Create Password Rules
Passwords are the main form of defense when it comes to data protection, but if you do not have rules in place then this could create vulnerabilities. You do not want to make it easy for hackers, which is why you need to have rules for staff to use random, complex and different passwords for their accounts and to change these on a regular basis. A password manager could then be used to manage these passwords.
Consider investing in CIAM to help minimize the risk of account takeover. It will also help streamline customer registration in customer-facing applications.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Following on from this, you should also use two-factor authentication to add another layer of defense to your accounts. This will require people to pass a second barrier, which could be entering a code sent to a linked phone or email address or answering a unique question.
Protect Devices From Malware
You also need to secure all devices from malware, especially as people are working remotely and using their own devices for work. The key ways to do this include:
- Antivirus software
- Using a firewall
- Anti-spam email software
- A VPN
Create A Plan For Remote Workers
Following on from this, if you have staff that work remotely then you need to be aware of the threat that this can pose. There needs to be a policy in place for remote workers which outlines exactly what they should and should not be doing to protect data and avoid cyber scams.
Provide Staff Training
It is usually human error and negligence that lead to data breaches and this is why staff training is one of the most important steps to data protection. You need to educate employees on how they can perform their role safely, how to protect data and how to both detect and report cyber scams.
Use Cloud Governance Services
Using the cloud can bring a wide range of benefits to any organization, but it can also pose challenges when it comes to access and permissions, which can lead to data issues. This is why you should be using cloud governance services that will give you greater control over access while ensuring that your team always has access to the data and content that they need for their role.
Create Backups
It is also important to have external backups of data that can be used if data becomes lost, stolen or corrupted. Ransomware is one of the biggest cybersecurity issues right now and having backups available is one of the best forms of defense against these attacks, which can affect any sized business in any industry.
Hopefully, this post will be educational and help you to take positive action to safeguard your company data and avoid cybercrime.
