Businesses are always going to be susceptible to data theft, simply because of the sheer amount of important information they store online in the technologically driven world of business today.
Would you take kindly to having all of your important information leaked for all of your competitors and customers to see, or would you like to be held to ransom to secure your figures from being breached? If not, then you have to do all you can, all the time, to prevent data theft for your business. To the point, you have to embrace specific practices and take precautionary measures.
Provide your employees with training
Whether it’s down to an innocent mistake or not, more often than not, employees are the biggest risk when it comes to data theft. One wrong move when using the company computers and, just like that, they let a hacker in. In fact, employees need only use their personal mobile phones while connected to the office wi-fi to let a hacker in.
To combat this in your business, you should be providing your employees with training in regards to the data risks they face every day. You should teach them to always ensure the legitimacy of a source before handing out information that is confidential.You need to drill it into them that attachments should never be opened without seeking a second opinion from another on whether it is safe to do so or not. Furthermore, you should ensure that they are able to spot the signs of anything suspicious that might be lurking in their emails, such as links that might open the gates for viruses to attack your network.
Secure the way you handle transactions
Most of the time, data thieves operate for one reason: to make some easy money. It is for this reason why they will target the monetary transactions that you make, and, thus, why you should seek to secure these transactions as best you can.
To do this, you should embrace a point-of-sale merchant service. By doing so you would be working on an end-to-end encryption basis, guaranteeing that neither yours nor your customer’s data can ever be hacked. What’s more, as you will be there to see the point-of-sale transaction take place, counterfeit usage will be brought to your attention immediately.
Dispose of sensitive data
The phrase ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’ has never rung truer than it does in regards to the throwing out of sensitive data. Quite simply, you cannot just leave documents that contain confidential information about your business lying around, whether it be a physical paper document or one found online, because it can come into the hands of anybody. What can then happen is your data, such as your name and address, being used in fraudulent activity, and, regardless of it’s your fault or not, your reputation would suffer for being involved in it. It is for this reason why you should shred all paper before recycling it, using either a shredding machine or shredding scissors, and you should remove your information from electronic devices, like computers, phones, laptops and, tablets, before you get rid of them or lend them to another.
Protect yourself against malware
A lot of data theft will be attempted online, namely through the threat that is malware, and it is for this reason why protecting yourself against it is pivotal.
First, you should set up an antivirus system that is big enough and strong enough to fight malicious online attacks on all of your company computers, laptops and tablets, no matter how many you might use. Second, you should set up anti-spyware that will stop your data from coming into the crosshairs of anybody in what is known as the ‘dark web’.
You should never take such precautions and download such software and then rest on your laurels, however. The best way to ensure continued safety against malware is to update the anti-malware software that you use continuously. This is because software providers know what does and does not work in regards to the fighting of malicious software and the data breaches that it causes, and they better their services as a result. So, if you want the very best protection, embrace the very latest.
Your business’s data and the secured storing of it is quintessential to its continued success.One breach and everything could go wrong. So, secure your data and you’ll safeguard your business in the best way possible as a result.