Data breaches used to be relatively uncommon. However, with the emergence of digitalization in more and more businesses of various sizes and focus comes threat. The fact that individuals and organizations everywhere share a great deal of data with social media platforms, airlines companies, e-commerce sites, local governments, and so on, it isn’t surprising that hackers have a multitude of targets to choose from. Indeed, when doing this, you trust that your data is safe and secure.
However, there are some vulnerabilities and weaknesses that exist in technology or user behavior, and hackers have become more confident and able to find them more easily. Plus, if you are a victim of such an attack, your customers might be eligible to claim compensation that can cover any financial damage they have suffered from the attack on your company.
So, cyberattacks happen frequently nowadays. Unless you strengthen your security and take all the necessary measures to prevent or at least minimize the risks of a data breach in your company, you become an easy target for such an attack.
But, don’t worry. With these measures and high investments in cybersecurity, your chances of being the target of a data breach can decrease.
Conduct regular risk assessments and audits
Without conducting regular risk assessments and security audits so you can identify any new weaknesses or gaps in compliance, your entire security system remains unprotected and, not to mention, outdated. In order to avoid this, third-party evaluations are encouraged and highly recommended, as you want to avoid becoming a target of a data breach as much as possible.
If a data breach happens in your company due to negligence and lack of audits and risk assessments, your customers are also left unprotected. In this case, they are victims of the data breach.
And given that they would be suffering from financial damages as well as emotional distress, they are entitled to claim data breach compensation. This can cover the loss of finances and affected mental health, such as anxiety and stress. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to reassure your customers at all times.
Use encryption and conduct regular data backups
It is of the utmost importance you use encryption measures and update passwords regularly to prevent the risk of a data breach in your company. You might have noticed that in the last couple of years, it became highly necessary to create undecipherable passwords by using a combination of upper-case letters, numbers, and various allowed special characters. This is the case because they are more challenging to break.
The same goes for your company’s staff. Apart from strengthening their encryption measures, they should be advised to change their passwords regularly.
Regular data backups are also of the utmost importance. A noteworthy mention would be to use remote services, such as an iCloud service using the internet. This is a safer option for your data backups instead of backup tapes, which could get lost, stolen, or broken.
Train employees frequently
Raising awareness among your employees of everything related to cybersecurity is a crucial thing to do. This informs them on the latest security measures undertaken within the company and teaches them how they can contribute to preventing or minimizing the risks of a data breach or other possible cyberattacks.
Your staff must be up to date with data privacy, data protection, and GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation in order to avoid doing any mistakes that could lead to data breaches. Plus, only this way can they be aware of the best practices when it comes to ensuring data protection.
Therefore, these aspects related to the business’s overall security and how to prevent risks of data breaches and other possible attacks should be incorporated within the company’s culture. Frequent employee training programs are, therefore, vital.
Restrict staff access to specific data
The more people have access to particular data within the company, the more vulnerabilities you create, and you become an easier target. Indeed, in certain situations, it is necessary you provide access to more than one employee. However, it is crucial to keep the number of allowed employees to as little as possible in order to minimize the risk of a potential data breach.
When you restrict access to certain employees and limit who can view sensitive documents and information, you also minimize the risk of someone entering on a harmful and suspicious link or making a mistake that could lead to a data breach. Apart from this, the company also becomes less of a target, given that there aren’t 100 employees with access to vital documents, but 10.
Partner with companies adhering to data protection standards
Regardless of the type of business you conduct, chances are you will be partnering at some point with other vendors if you haven’t done so already. In this case, before you sign on to any collaboration and start a project, it is vital you make sure the possible partner adheres to data protection standards and policies and takes data privacy seriously within their company.
For instance, if the vendor or company you wish to partner with handles your customer’s data, such as contact information, it is of the utmost importance you ensure they have proper and updated security systems in place. Therefore, conduct an analysis to see whether they comply with data protection regulations. This is necessary to continue to protect your customer’s data.
Update the security software frequently
All the steps mentioned above are necessary for preventing or even minimizing the risks of a data breach within the company, and it is crucial you commit to them. In addition to these, you mustn’t overlook or underestimate the importance of updating the entire security software frequently. For this reason, you should consider hiring a cybersecurity expert that specializes in various security methods and techniques the company should do to prevent different types of cyberattacks.
Some effective techniques you could enforce within the company include installing firewalls, conducting any routine updates, committing to regular risk assessments, or installing a VPN service to protect your information, especially if any of your employees use their personal laptops.
