Oct 17, 2019
Data breach has grown exponentially across a number of organisations. However, small businesses still fail to make it a priority, even though data breach can cost the business an extensive amount of money, and tarnish the reputation of the company.
What can cause data breach? Many business
owners, especially small companies tend to ignore it, as they assume it won’t
happen to them. Budget restraints, lack of technical expertise and knowledge
surrounding the importance of it are other causes.
What exactly is data breach?
A data breach happens when unauthorised
access is gained to an organisation’s infrastructure to steal information
stored in databases. This data can include passwords, credit card details, to
private identity information.
The hacker’s goal, is to use this
information to engage in identity theft and fraud. These types of activities
are carried out by physically accessing computers on business premises or remotely
breaching the network.
So how
do businesses prevent security breaches?
Founder and CEO of Art motion, Mateo Meier
says “protecting your valuable digital assets starts with formulating security
best practices that can be easily understood and followed by everyone in the
organisation.”
Here are 5 ways to prevent data
breach so you can start securing your organisation’s digital assets.
1. Conduct regular employee training
Human error is one of the primary causes of
data breach within companies. Employees often open suspicious emails that have
the potential to download viruses.
This is why it’s so important for
organisations to engage in regular employee security awareness training
workshops, so staff are reminded of the evolving security threats.
Training improves awareness of physical
preventative measures against data breaches and how hardware should be handled,
to avoid data being compromised. How to
securely transfer files, communicate safely across platforms and encrypting
emails are also key for staff to be aware of.
2. Develop
a data breach prevention plan
Creating a data breach prevention plan
educates both the employees and the employer to understand how detrimental data
breach is.
Start with mapping out what the
organisation wants to achieve and how it is going to be executed.
The data prevention plan can be referred
back to whenever staff are dealing with a potential data breach. However, it
would need to be an adaptable and an evolving plan, as threats also do not stay
static and will attempt to outsmart organisations.
Think
IT are technology IT specialists and will
be able to help create a data breach prevention plan unique to your business.
3. Update operating systems and software
regularly
Operating systems and software need to be
updated regularly to keep them protected from data breach. Business networks
open themselves to risks and vulnerability when programs do not have the
security measures in place.
Think
IT can provide a solution to this and assist with regularly checking
programs are up-to-date. Focused on
working alongside AntiVirus solutions to help create a more secure system for
businesses, just like yours.
4. Limit
access to valuable data
Companies are learning that it is critical to limit access to their valuable
data. When employees are limited to specific documents, you not only save a
task being over-handled, but you reduce the chances of staff clicking on a
harmful link.
Small companies are privy to sharing
resources and tasks more, including the temptation to use the same laptop for
both work and personally, which increases exposure to risk. Keeping personal
and business hardware separate will go a long way in protecting your data from
breaches.
5. Third-party vendors security
Many businesses work with a range of
third-party vendors. It’s key to be mindful who you’re dealing with and a good
precaution to limit the types of documents these vendors can view or have
access to. The cost of a data breach can
be detrimental to your organisation.
Background checks and ensuring third-party
vendors are complying with privacy laws need to be carried out for safety
measures.
To find out more about data breach
prevention, get in touch with Think IT. Leading technology specialists who work
alongside companies and provide guidance to teams to ensure the prevention of a
data breach and assisting with the overall success of businesses.
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