Today’s Businesses Need These Security Measures to Protect Data

There is no doubt that data security is an important area of concern for every business, regardless of its size. Considering all the vital data that’s stored virtually, from customers’ private information to financial records, it is not difficult to understand why one breach can have a serious impact on your business and lead to disastrous consequences. These include damage to reputation, loss of confidentiality, loss of files and threat of money loss. Fixing a data breach can turn out to be very expensive and complicated in the long run.

While it is not possible to completely prevent data breaches from happening, there are some security measures to protect data that can be immensely beneficial. It is recommended that every business should use these security measures to protect data from the get go as it can help them in the long run. What are they?

Let’s take a look at some of the best security measures to protect data:

Always opt for strong passwords

Perhaps, one of the most obvious security measures to protect data is to establish strong passwords for all accounts, bank details and any other kinds of accounts. Yet, this is where a lot of businesses lack and it can cost them considerably in the long run. It is also crucial to opt for strong passwords that cannot be easily guessed by other people. The passwords need to be a combination of numbers and characters. Yes, they should also be easy to remember, but it doesn’t mean that any personal data, such as birthdate, is used. Also, you should give every employee their own username and password for any kind of login system. One shared password is not recommended.

Get a strong firewall

This is one of the most notable security measures to protect data because it protects your network by controlling the internet traffic that’s coming into and moving out of the business. It is recommended that you opt for one of the top firewalls that are available in order to enjoy maximum security.

Install antivirus program

Another important weapon in your arsenal for protecting data is antivirus and antimalware software. These programs are considered the last line of defense in the situation where an unwanted attack gets through and infects your network. When considering the best security measures to protect data, this cannot be ignored. You should select one of the top antivirus programs in the market, which are loaded with advanced features.

Update all programs regularly

Another one of the necessary security measures to protect data is to make sure that your computer is properly updated and has all the patches. There is absolutely no point in installing security software and other tools if you don’t update them on a regular basis. Otherwise, these security applications will have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber-criminals and the data can be compromised. When programs are frequently updated, you will also remain up-to-date about any recent loopholes or issues that have been fixed by the programmers.

Secure your laptops

As laptops are portable in nature, they are at a higher risk of being stolen or lost than the average business desktops. Therefore, it is important to implement some security measures to protect data, especially when it is sensitive in nature. The easiest way to go about it is to encrypt all laptops. With the use of encryption software, you will change the way data looks on the hard drive and it will not be possible for anyone to read the data without the password. Secondly, the laptop should never be left anywhere it may be an easy target for criminals, such as your car.

Secure your smartphones

These days, smartphones hold a lot of data and they should be considered just as valuable as company computers. In addition, they are much more easily stolen or lost. Therefore, the best security measures to protect data also involve securing your smartphones. This means using encryption software, enabling remote wiping and strong password protection.

Regular backups

If you are looking for painless security measures to protect data, scheduling regular backups to the cloud or an external hard drive is an excellent way to go. The general rule of thumb associated with backups is to opt for weekly backup of servers and incremental backups for every night. It is also recommended that you backup personal computers on a weekly basis as well.

Monitor well

There is no point in having all the good technology that we have available today if we don’t take advantage of it. Using monitoring tools is also one of the security measures to protect data. You can use data-leakage prevention software, which is established at important network touchpoints. Its purpose is to look for specific information that originates from your internal network. Thus, this kind of software can be configured to be on the lookout for pieces of code, credit card numbers or any other information that’s relevant to your business and could indicate a data breach. Not monitoring properly is just going to be a waste of time and a waste of resources.

Be cautious with emails and web surfing

Last, but certainly not the least, the security measures to protect data include being cautious when you are opening emails or even instant messages. These have download links and attachments that can be extremely dangerous because they might have malicious code that gets installed on the device. Unless an attachment or link is expected, it should not be opened. If you know the sender, it is best to verify it. Likewise, employees also need to be smart when surfing the web because there is plenty of spyware and adware out there, which can cause a lot of security issues. Information can be compromised, deleted or locked, which can lead to problems for the business.

As long as a business follows these security measures to protect data, they will be able to keep breaches to a minimum and keep data secure.