Keeping your company’s private information secure is a top priority. Your business needs to ensure that its data is stored securely, from its initial creation to the final archive. Otherwise, you risk cybercriminals breaking into your system and stealing sensitive information that can lead to identity theft or financial ruin for your company.
Regardless of how big or small your business is, keeping your company’s data safe requires plenty of planning, preparation and vigilance.
1. Create A Culture of Security
The most effective way to keep your company’s data safe is to create a security culture. To do this, you need to make sure you have a plan to protect your company’s data from conception to the final archival process.
The first step is to create a checklist of what needs to be done to keep your data safe during all stages of creation. It should include a guide for employees about what not to do when accessing your company’s data and what steps to take if they encounter any suspicious activity.
You should also involve your IT department in the process. Managed IT services in San Antonio can help you develop security checks that you can use to monitor how your employees interact with your network and its data.
You can also make sure that your IT team has a strong security plan in place that is optimized for your company’s specific needs.
2. Install The Latest Software
You should make sure that you always install the latest software on your company’s devices. It includes programs like antivirus software, firewalls and anti-malware software.
You could risk your company’s data if you don’t install the latest security patches on your devices. Cybercriminals often find vulnerabilities in outdated software that allow them to break into your system.
Always make sure that your antivirus software is up to date. This software stops malware from infecting your computer, but only if it is current.
3. Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are the first defense against identity theft and financial fraud. They should be at least ten characters long and include letters, numbers and symbols.
You should also ensure you don’t reuse the same password for multiple devices and accounts. If one of them gets compromised, the cybercriminals could use that same password to break into the rest of your systems.
You should also avoid using personal information for your passwords. It includes things like your name, birthday, or social security number. Cybercriminals can easily find this information online and use it to break into your system.
4. Install an Antivirus Program
You need to install an antivirus program on your computers and network devices to protect your company from malware and viruses. Malware is any program that disrupts or damages a computer. Viruses are malicious computer programs that replicate and spread quickly.
Even if you only use computers to store your company’s data, you should still install antivirus software on them. It is because you could be accidentally sharing files that contain malicious software with your network, thereby putting your entire system at risk.
You should update the program whenever a new update is released because these updates often contain virus or bug patches.
5. Back Up Your Data Regularly
Data breaches are common and they often occur due to human error. Just as important as protecting your data is knowing how to recover it when it gets corrupted or lost. You can do it through regular data backups.
For businesses, you should make sure you have a regular backup schedule. Ideally, you should back up your data once a day and store the copies on an external device that isn’t connected to your network. You can also use cloud storage services like Dropbox to back up your data.
If your data gets damaged or lost, you can use a data recovery service to restore it. These services offer all-inclusive plans that let you restore old backups, as well as recent ones.
Keeping your company’s data secure is an essential task. Your company could face financial ruin if your data is stolen or damaged. You should always look for new threats.
Keeping your company’s information safe is a continuous process. You should look for any signs of an attack, such as abnormal outgoing traffic or an unusual number of login attempts.
