Nothing seems safe in the world anymore. Major corporations are getting hacked into all of the time and having precious customer and corporate data stolen or destroyed. Nothing is more important than your data and it must be a huge priority for your business to protect it.
Protect the most important and securely destroy the rest
All files and discs that have sensitive information must be locked away securely whenever they are not in use. Only a select few employees should have access to your most sensitive company data. Always make back ups and copies and store those off site in a secure location. Call in the proper experts when having to destroy any electronic data. Swirling a refrigerator magnet around a few times or using a paper shredder is not going to cut it.
Encrypt and limited access
One thing that hurts small business is that they either don’t use passwords or they are so simple a six year old could hack into the system. Create strong passwords and change them frequently. Again, only a select few in the company should have access to critical data. Everyone else should only have access to what they need to do their job. Encryption is one of the best safeguards you have so use it and update it often.
Firewalls and keep your software updated
Using excellent virus and malware software, as well as the best firewall protection you can get for your computers and servers, is absolutely critical to your security. Secure and encrypt your Wi-Fi so that not just anyone can log onto it. Make certain that whatever software you are using is reputable and always download the updates. The updates will help plug holes in any security situations that the software company has detected.
Third parties and employee training
If you are using a third party with regard to data transactions and storage, you must examine their security. If you find it less than adequate then you need to find another provider. Who they are and how good are they is what matters. Finally, employee vigilance is everything. You must train your employees to be security conscious and you must ingrain it into the entire company culture. Your employees are your best defense because it is they who are on the front lines everyday.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
