How to Secure Your Business Against Breaches and Protect What Matters Most

 

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We’ve all heard of data breaches from large companies and thought “how did that happen?!”. The truth is, if your data isn’t stored correctly or you’re careless for even a second, it really isn’t that difficult to access files you shouldn’t.

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As a business owner, this is something you need to be diligent about, especially with information regarding your employees and customers. Not only could their identities become a risk, but they could lose out financially too. On top of that, your business could be at risk too, and your reputation will take a nosedive.


So, how can you protect important data in your business?

Only store relevant information

While it might be tempting to store as much information as possible regarding your customers, especially information you can use for marketing purposes, you are putting them in a risky position if there is a data breach. Only store the information you need, because the less information you have about them, the safer they will be if data is leaked.


It’s also a good idea to remove any information regarding customers that no longer use your business to keep them safe. The same goes for any staff members that have left your employment. A good idea would be to use a hard drive destruction service every six months to get rid of information that’s no good to you anymore.

Avoid paper copies

Everything is paperless in this day and age, so now is the time to get rid of any information you have that’s documented on paper. You can transfer this data into a safe file on your computer or the cloud. Once you have done this, shred any and all documents to get rid of any confidential information that you hold.


By shredding this information, you’re less likely to have your data breached, whether that’s through a disgruntled employee or someone that’s managed to gain access to your systems. You can hire external paper shredding services that will collect the waste and dispose of it properly if you’re not sure how to effectively do this.

Put in effort to safeguard data

Now all we have left is ensuring that the information on your computer is safe. By making it difficult for your computer to get into, you’re safeguarding customer and employee data. You can achieve this by making sure your computer systems are up to date with the latest releases, and install firewalls and anti-virus programs to add another layer of security.


Making sure your passwords are unguessable is another way to safeguard private information. You can do this by using a random string of letters, numbers and punctuation, or you could invest in a fingerprint scanner that will only accept your fingerprints.


Another good idea is to speak to an IT professional, as they will be able to help make sure the data on your computer is even more protected. They may suggest storing confidential data offsite to help prevent any data breaches. Anyone looking to harm you or your business wouldn’t suspect data to be stored at an offsite storage facility.


Maintain trust in your customers and employees by keeping their data safe!

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