In 2022, businesses need data more than ever. Data can be used to find out more about customers, who they are, and what their preferences are. Data can be used to speed up the customer service process, data can be used to analyze the efficiency of a company. We would be nowhere without data.
Of course, storing and keeping data safe can be a huge headache for even the smallest companies. Data hacks and leaks are big business for cybercriminals and they can cause a huge PR headache for companies, not to mention cause legal issues for any business that has a data breach too.
The good news is, there are lots of very effective things you can do to secure your company’s data from risk right now, including the following:
Conduct san annual risk assessment
If you want to keep your data secure, you cannot afford to rest on your laurels, which is why it is a really good idea to have an independent third-party conduct a technology risk assessment each year. This will flag up any concerns so you can mitigate against them before they grow into a huge data risk.
Limit data access
A very easy way to keep your data safe is to limit the number of employees who can see it to only those who have a real reason to do so. Many data breaches are human in nature, and the fewer eyes on your data, the less risk there is of something going wrong, Encryopty and protect your data and only give the kye to people who really need to see.
Protect your network from malware
Malware is insidious and once it gets onto your network it can hack all of your files and cause no small amount of chaos. That is why it is vital you do everything you can to protect against it from installing a firewall and antivirus software to ensuring that your staff knows not to open any attachments from email addresses outside of the company, or not at all if you can help it.
Use strong passwords
All of your employees should be using strong passwords made up of a random string of letters, numbers, and characters. What’s more, they should be encouraged to change those passwords periodically so that if they are leaked, it is less likely cybercriminals will be able to use them for nefarious purposes.
Encrypt everything
If you encrypt all of your sensitive data files, then even if they do fall into the wrong hands, it will be almost impossible for the person who has stolen them to gain access to any meaningful datasets.
Automatically update
Set all of your software systems to automatically update to ensure that they can always benefit from all of the latest protections.
Maintaining the security of your data should be a significant priority for your company right now, and the above steps will definitely help you to keep that private information safe, all that remind is to implement them in your business!
