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Data security is becoming a topic of increasing importance as of late, especially thanks to some unfortunate breaches as of late. These breaches often have fatal consequences for all but the biggest companies, so if you’re getting more connected and storing more important financial and customer data than ever, like many businesses, it’s time to take it seriously. Here’s how to start shaping up your cyber security policies.
Understand the risks your data brings
First of all, you have to figure out where your most sensitive data is and what’s worth protecting. If you’re an ecommerce business, then your site should be where you focus most of that security, ensuring top level encryption and doing what you can to stop hackers for stealing your customers data. When it comes to using Cloud storage, you should also consider which data is safe to keep online, such as internal documents, and which shouldn’t be kept there, such as any personal information on your employees or customers. Weigh which data needs more security and focus on investing on protecting that above the rest.
Scaling your security to your needs
Unless you’re running an enterprise business, you’re not going to have the resources to hire cybersecurity experts directly to your team. In many cases, you may need to look to outsourcing. Visit redkeysolutions.com to see how managed IT teams are able to take a look at your entire security scope, from your devices to your internally used apps to your website, and help you develop a comprehensive security plan. Trying to work out your security needs alone leaves you ripe for opening dark spots that hackers and malware can slip in through.
Getting your team onboard
With a well-secured tech setup, the majority of threats come not from without, but from within. Passwords left out in the open, stations left logged in, falling for phishing scams, there are a lot of ways that well-meaning employees can put your data at a lot of risk. A thorough policy for security best practices, as shown at centurylinkbrightdeas.com, is essential. Your team must be constantly kept abreast of the latest threats and reminded of their duty to contribute to cybersecurity. Otherwise, it’s like building castle walls only for a guard to leave the gates wide open to the invaders.
Ensuring the right people have the right access
More and more teams are using SaaS apps to do their work on the Cloud, meaning their team can access that company data from anywhere. As such, ensuring that only the right people have admin and super admin privileges is essential. This includes an immediate policy of removing any privileges from those that no longer need to use the app or who may leave the company. On a regular basis, such as once a month, you should check who has admin privileges and ask why they need them. If they don’t, remove those privileges.
The more reliant on tech your business becomes, the more you need to invest in securing your data. It can undoubtedly be costly, but nowhere near as much as suffering a breach and all the legal trouble that can bring on your head.
