In today’s day and age, cyber-attacks and data leaks are part of doing business. To combat them, you need to have a solid plan in place, one that effectively protects your data and customer information, reducing liability risks in the process. To stay vigilant with data security, make sure you:
Know your data.
If you don’t know what you have, you can’t protect it. So, inventory the data you have. Plus, if a cyber-attack does happen, you’ll know what was leaked and how serious the threat is to the well-being of your company and your customers.
Taking inventory will also give you a chance to find old, dated or stale information you no longer need. It can still contain sensitive data, though, so should be disposed of properly.
Train your team.
In most cases, data attacks happen due to an insider threat. Simply by clicking on an email attachment, an employee can inadvertently spread a virus throughout your entire organization. It’s where regular training comes in, including explaining why security is so important and the steps employees can take to keep data safe.
Protect data from people.
Not all of your employees need to have access to all data at your company. Instead, work with your IT team to limit data. Figure out which employees need access to what data. Be particularly careful about who has access to sensitive information. Only give your employees access to the information they need to do their jobs.
Encrypt devices.
The onus is the on your company to protect data. To further do that and minimize the risk of a data breach, make sure data is stored and encrypted properly. Further, invest in a robust anti-malware software system and require that employees change passwords on a regular basis a least every 60 to 90 days.
Keep software and systems updated.
Make sure when updates come in, you immediately install them. These often contain fixes for areas that could put your data at risk.
Test your security system.
Don’t assume your system is working. Have a professional test it out with a security audit. This will reveal any unexpected weaknesses you can deal with before a real breach happens.
Need help protecting and securing your data?
Happy Faces Records Management is here for you. We can safely and securely store documents and records, while ensuring they are still easily accessible. Contact us today to get started.
