A business’s data is its biggest asset. Without it, a business would have no information on their customers, no insight into their metrics and statistics, not to mention that they could lose key files and documents. Therefore, businesses must put in the necessary measures to keep their data safe. There are so many risks that can compromise business data – such as corrupted files, malware, and malicious hacking.
However, many business owners aren’t aware of the crucial things they need to implement to maximize their data security. To help businesses protect vital files and information, here are some of the basics of protecting your data.
Install Security Software
The biggest threats to a company’s data are hacking (gaining unauthorized access to your network) and malware that can infiltrate your devices and wreak havoc in various ways. A breach in this way can alter your files, download viruses, and even lock your computer in a ransomware attack.
To stop these attacks from affecting your IT and your data, it’s important to have the necessary security software downloaded. This includes antivirus software, which uses an algorithm to detect the code of malicious software and removes it. You can also get firewalls that deny access to any unauthorized devices that may be trying to gain access to your network. You could get a VPN installed onto your network, which is a device that logs you onto a separate server making it much harder to hack into your devices and to steal your data.
Encrypt Your Data
Encryption is one of the more sophisticated ways to protect your data and, because of that, is also one of the most effective. Encryption is where your data is scrambled with a code to make it unreadable if it ever is intercepted. The only way to unscramble the data is through the use of a key that can decipher it.
Cloud computing solutions, such as avepoint.com, are very effective at keeping remote data safe as well as being a good location to back data up onto. Due to the money involved with cloud computing, these services are also able to use the most robust encryption measures, meaning that your data is super safe when you use these services.
Train Your Staff
One of the biggest reasons why businesses get hacked or lose their data is because of staff error and this may be due to insufficient training. Staff needs to be made aware of the dangers of the internet and the common tactics hackers implement to gain information, such as phishing emails and mimic websites. Teaching staff how to identify these phishing attacks can better protect your data. It is also worth training them on best practices for backing up and storing data, as a lot of data is lost through poor storage practices too. Important data should always be backed up onto another storage medium so that if data is lost, it’s retrievable through another means. Business owners should also train their staff to not post sensitive information onto their social media, such as the location of work, addresses, or anything else that can be compromised, and also encourage staff to have private social network accounts.