In this technology-driven world, anything is possible. With the advancement in technologies, there is an increase in the threat of cybercrimes such as hacking, identity theft, data breaching, social engineering, etc. When we hear the term cybercrime, we associate it with large organizations and business houses. But the truth is cybercrime does not discriminate between big corporations and small businesses. For large organizations such as Apple or Facebook, data breaching becomes an expensive and embarrassing debacle but for small businesses, such incidents could mean the end of business entirely.

Hence it is important for every business owner to be aware of the Data Security to protect their company from unethical hacking or data breaches. To thwart the attempted security breaches you need some planning, vigilance, and basic precautions.

Here are 5 ‘Data Security Tips’ every business owner should know about and implement it as well. These tips are centered around people, processes, and technological advancements to protect themselves and their valued clients.

1. Embedding Data Security Features

Your company’s security should not be an add-on feature rather a fundamental part of both end-user product design and internal system architecture.

a. System User Access: Your company’s systems must be secure by design providing users only have the access rights required to do their job. You must provide limited access to each and every employee to keep the full access only to authorized people.

b. Encryption: While transferring highly-confidential data you can encrypt it by applying mathematical algorithms and schemes to make the information unreadable. This information could be decoded by the person who has the decryption key.

c. Implementing Strong User Authentication: To make the user authentication process strong you would require multiple stages of verification. By adding multiple stages you can make your system difficult to hack.

• 2-Factor Authentication
• Multi-factor Authentication
• API Authentication
• HTTP Basic Authentication

2. Training Employees As Per Company’s Data Protection Rules:

Data breaches happen when there is a weak link in the chain. People and their lack of awareness or willingness to abide by the security regulations can potentially render all your data protection and security measures. Train your employees by implanting the data security culture of the organization. Set some good examples at the management level and emphasis on following the best practices.

3. Coherent Data Regulation:

All the business owners, from large enterprises to small businesses, must be aware of the data regulation policy and GDPR requirements.

GDPR – It is a regulation in European Union law on data protection and privacy. It also handles the transfer of personal as well as organizational data. Every company must comply with the new requirements of GDPR. It is also considered as the world’s strongest set of data protection rules, which regulates how people can access information and limits what various organizations can do with personal data.

Data governance: Data Governance provides a holistic approach to manage, improve, and leverage information to help an enterprise’s overall data management efficiency.

4. Efficient Planning Of The Incident & Disaster Response:

Business owners always need to be very proactive to secure their confidential data from breaching. It means they need to be ready to tackle the unfortunate event that has the potential to destroy or steal the data. The Data Security team must be prepared by proper training, response planning, and data recovery. Implement the use of Anti-virus software like Bitdefender, Norton, McAfee, and F-Secure for the systems.

5. Data Backup:

Every business owner needs to be prepared for the worst. It might happen that securing data does not provide 100 percent assurance of the data. A small loophole in the system can cost you millions. Therefore having a data backup ensures that although the information can be stolen or destroyed, it can always be restored. Make use of data backup software – Backup & Restore, Idrive, Cobian Backup. Choose something that suits your business functionalities.

Summary:

Data is not just an entity that every organization requires. It is equivalent to knowledge and helps in making informed decisions and provides indisputable evidence. Moreover, it increases the efficiency of the working staff in the organizations. There are various sectors where data can be really helpful for the organizations – getting new customers, increasing customer retention, keeping a track of social media, predicting and analyzing industry trends and making better decisions.

For more information, visit www.dataresilience.com.au or drop us a note at [email protected]