In this day and age, data breaches are a major concern for many businesses across the globe. In the first six months of 2019, 4.1 billion records were exposed by data breaches.
This figure is going to get worse over time. If you think that this prediction is overly ominous, then you should look at some of the most terrifying data breaches of this year. The Marriott Data Breach in March affected over 5.1 million guests. The recent Twitter breach allowed hackers to intercept data and even take over accounts of prominent verified users like Barrack Obama and Elon Musk, which they then used to try to commit fraud.
This is why modern business owners are looking for ways to improve their web presence. Secondly, with ransomware and phishing attacks becoming omnipresent, it is hard for many modern business owners to protect their data as soon as it is uploaded on the digital platform. Luckily, many businesses have adopted novel techniques to improve the security of their vital information.
If you are looking for some valuable tips to solidify your data security, you’ve come to the right spot. Here, we will guide you through some interesting tips to secure your information from online predators. Make sure to read till the end:
1. Protect The Data Itself
Around 90% of the average company’s security budget is spent on securing data. Despite this investment, there is no assurance that it will be safe on the web. So you need to concentrate on securing the firewalls that filter out possible hackers. Once they become strong enough, it will be harder for a hacker to circumvent them.
Unfortunately, hackers have hundreds of ways to cause damage to the firewalls. There are currently over 900 million different forms of malware, which can be used to attack the cyberdefenses of any organization, including their firewalls. If this happens, they can easily influence the company, employees, suppliers, and all the other stakeholders of the business. Secondly, because your stakeholders are interested in the business information, you never know when somebody from the inside might cause damage to your data. This is why it is crucial to protect the data yourself by building strong security walls around it.
2. Encrypt All Devices
There’s no denying that there has been an exponential increase in the number of people who choose to work from their personal computers and mobile devices. However, there is no guarantee that these devices are trustworthy. This is why it is in your best interest to encrypt the data so that not everyone has access to it. This way, when data is migrated from one device to the other, you will rest assured that no one will cause harm to it. Make sure to encrypt it with string passwords and on the safest platform. With ransomware being omnipresent, every business is vulnerable to losing its valuable data.
3. Delete Redundant Data
Every organization has to deal with important information as the most crucial part of their business. This is especially true if you consider the different sectors that depend on digital data such as healthcare, public, education, and ec-commerce. In all of these sectors, customer data is paramount.
So if a part of the data is not needed anymore, you can delete it so that it doesn’t end up in the hands of the wrong people. For this to happen, you need to have a strong place for erasing and modifying data. This way, you will rest assured that all the company employees won’t have access to it. However, if you need it mandatory, it is best for you to keep a backup of this information.
4. Test Your Security
If you think installing strong anti-virus software is the best way to protect your data from malicious attacks, you’re wrong! Despite much advancement in the anti-virus programs, hackers have all the strong tools and techniques to cause damage to the company’s database. Recent research believes testing your security system will identify the loopholes in your work process. Keep in mind; if you try to identify the loopholes yourself, it will be hard for you to extract the problems from your system. However, if you ask a third person to evaluate your security, they will tell you all the pros and cons of the efforts you’ve made. Don’t forget to use this wifi booster when running security checks.
5. Use Strong Passwords
One of the leading reasons behind the company’s sensitive data getting stolen is when the passwords aren’t strong. Keep in mind, the password of your main computer shouldn’t be available with everyone around. Don’t use generic keywords or phrases that are often used in the company. Settle for a strong password that is inclusive of letters, numerals, and symbols. This way, it will be easy for you to be sure the information is safe with a few people in the company. The best way to use strong passwords is to change them every 90 days.