There have been a mass of security and data breaches over the past year. This leaves many organizations as well as individuals worried about the security of their private and work files. And that’s not it. An ordinary data breach can also get your business into serious legal trouble.
Well, you cannot predict the exact time when a cyber criminal attempts to attack your business, but you can certainly avoid a major incident by taking simple precautions. You can protect your proprietary information as well as business secrets with the right plans, strategies and security software.
This article will discuss five most important strategies to protect your business data from unauthorized access.
1- Strong Passwords
When it comes to sensitive data, you want to ensure that criminals can’t gain access to that information. It could be personal data on clients, employees or customers, or your own vital data like financials or research and development for your company’s future success. Adding a strong password to your computer system is only the first step. It’ll stop a hacker or snoop from entering your computer system physically, but you need to have another layer of protection for each file especially if it’s incredibly sensitive. The word document program you’re using, which is normally Microsoft Word, should have an option to add password protection to documents. Compressing and encrypting documents with a zipping software can be helpful too.
2- System Scans and Updates for Vulnerability
Along with protecting your computer with anti-spyware and other software, you should be scanning your system periodically for viruses. Your current software might not be secure enough to stop viruses and attacks, or you might have trojans and other malware sitting on your computer. For that kind of malicious security problem, you’ll need to regularly scan your computer as well as any files you download. It’s also important to keep your computer updated with the latest software and operating system patches. Those will patch any holes that the operating system manufacturer finds in its software.
3- Secure File Sharing and Transferring Data
Your company is very vulnerable to theft when files and data are being transferred from one place to another especially in the cloud. In many businesses, employees work from home or high-level executives need to access data on the road. The files and data has to be in a secure location for you or the employee to access. Very large files have to be fast, accurate and secure. Most companies want to back up their files into a more secure structure while allowing access from their computer, and it makes sense to purchase secure file transfer software for that purpose. Reliable file sharing encryption is also a necessity in this case.
4- Firewall Protection
A firewall can protect hardware and software from intruders. A hardware firewall is a solution that comes from a physical piece of gear like a router, which will come with firewall protection. Software firewall programs are added later to the computer itself to protect the company or individual from intruders looking to steal data or to attack the computer with viruses. There are anti-virus programs that include a software firewall for the safety of your data.
5- Employee Training
One of the biggest risks to data and information is through employees. They don’t use the proper protocols, have simple passwords, use public computers for their work or log into the company’s network while on a public Wi-Fi network. To protect your company, it’s vital that employees are trained in the correct way to access data as well as given them the tools they need to operate safely.
Between strong passwords for all aspects of the IT system, firewall protection, employee training and secure file sharing and transfers, as the boss, you won’t have to be overly concerned and scared for vital company data. You’ll be protected from a variety of angles and unauthorized people won’t be able to penetrate those layers of defense.
