Your company’s data needs to be safeguarded. In business today data is used for a wide range of different things from learning about customer behaviors to understanding the latest trends in an industry. As a business owner, you likely know all of this already.
However, while most business owners do indeed know how important data is, it’s not exactly common for them to take steps to protect theirs.
You need to make sure that you take care of yours so that you do not end up losing it or getting it stolen.
Here are six tips for protecting your data:
Data Backups
In this post’s title reference is given to data backups. While this article’s entire focus will not be on data backups it is a concept that needs to be mentioned.
Data backups are essential when you save all of the data stored on your device to a cloud account so that you can access it even in the event of data loss.
Data backups should be an important part of your company’s disaster recovery plan which you can find out more about here. Make sure that you perform backups on a regular basis. Whenever data is amended, deleted, or added you should be backing it up.
By backing it up every single time that changes are made you won’t ever have to worry about massive logs of data being lost (or any being lost, for that matter).
Cloud Servers
It is entirely possible to perform backups on physical storage devices however such devices are antiquated and outdated.
Why use a physical storage device when you can use the cloud instead? One of the main problems with physical devices is that they are very easily lost and can also be stolen.
The cloud is almost impenetrable and is very hard to lose data on as long as you keep up with your subscription payments.
When looking for a cloud server to use it is worth shopping around and conducting extensive research.
Not all cloud servers are worth using. Some are better than others. You need to find the one that feels right for you and your company and most importantly of all, has the most attractive and desirable plans and policies available.
The more memory the better. Try and get a plan that gives you lots of memory for a small amount of money.
Keeping data on the cloud will mean it is easily obtainable and can be used more effectively for marketing and other things.
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Two-factor Authentication
On your cloud account, you need to make sure that you have two-factor authentication enabled.
Two-factor authentication is an effective security measure that can be employed to stop criminals and hackers from gaining access to your accounts.
Whenever you sign into your account (once two-factor authentication has been enabled) a code will be texted to a designated phone number.
Until this code has been entered you will not be able to log into your account. Two-factor authentication does have its flaws, however.
For example, if you enable it but then lose access to your authorized phone number or device, getting back into your cloud account will be a nightmare.
Make sure that you only ever enable two-factor authentication on devices and numbers you are sure you won’t ever lose access to. Email accounts can be used instead of numbers and devices.
Storage Devices
Using physical storage devices as your only method of protecting data isn’t wise. However, physical storage devices can be used effectively as long as they are secondary storage mediums.
If you plan on using physical storage devices then you need to do everything you can to protect them from criminals.
Physical storage devices are very easy for criminals to steal. You can protect these devices with passwords, however. If you do plan on using passwords to protect them then you need to make sure that they are hard for people to guess.
In addition to protecting them from hackers you also need to do everything you can to prevent yourself from losing your storage devices.
It’s not uncommon for business owners to actually lose storage devices. Losing them means that you lose all of the data on them and then that if anybody finds them, they can access sensitive business data.
Careful Access
In terms of data handling and management, you need to be very careful about who you give access to sensitive information.
The biggest threat posed to your company is not hackers but actually disgruntled employees.
Studies indicate that most data leaks occur from within. You, therefore, need to do everything you can to protect your data and stop employees from being able to leak it.
You can do this by only giving access to approved, dedicated employees. Make sure you carefully monitor employee data access too.
You can download and use programs that allow you to watch how employees are using data.
If employees begin using it in ways that you do not approve of or if they do not appear to be safeguarding it then punish them and potentially even fire them for data mismanagement (as mismanagement of data can have disastrous consequences).
Repelling Hackers
Finally, you need to do everything that you can to repel hackers and cybercriminals. The reason criminals will go after your data is that once they have it, they can then begin targeting your customers and stealing their personal information and data.
Armed with this information they can commit massive acts of fraud online, i.e., identity fraud or even taking money directly out of their bank accounts. If you do not protect customer data then you could get into a lot of trouble.
Your industry’s regulatory body could give you fines or even force you to temporarily close until you address data leaks.
You can repel hackers and criminal gangs by hiring a managed security service and paying them to look after your data for you.
Managed security services are widely available and can be very helpful. Make sure that you hire one with good reviews and a positive reputation.
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The bottom line
Your company’s data is something you need to do everything in your power to protect. Make sure that you safeguard it and protect it from criminals.
You also need to back it up in case of accidental loss. Follow the tips given here to manage company data more effectively.
