Data is everywhere. As we move towards a future that is even more data driven, it is important to take into consideration the risks associated with storing data. If you store the personal data of your consumers or employees on your business computer system, then you have an obligation to protect that data. According to the Bureau of Consumer Protection, “These days, it’s just common sense that any business that collects personal information from consumers also would have a security plan to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the information.” If that data is compromised, businesses face serious repercussions that include the loss of customers and even lawsuits. To protect against sensitive data breaches in your business’s keeping, be sure to employ the following tips:
Risk Assessment
One of the first things a business can do to minimize the risk of a data breach is to perform a risk assessment. Find out where the internal and external risks lie regarding your security system. If you can’t perform these assessment tasks yourself, it’s worth the expense to invest in a security consultant that can help you pinpoint your vulnerabilities.
Control the Risks Associated With Data Security
Once your business is aware of its particular risks, it can make a plan to control them. With the help of a consultant, your IT department should be able to identify best practices that will minimize the risks to your data security.
Monitor Your Security System
Setting up security for your data is not a one-time project. Today, companies must be vigilant about monitoring their security systems and keep up with new best practices and innovative solutions that improve data security.
Make Changes To Your Security System
Monitoring alone won’t protect your business from data breaches unless you make effective changes based on what you have monitored. You may find that some changes are small while others affect your entire security system.
Adopt Better Products
Businesses must remember that threats to data aren’t simply blocked by a firewall. Businesses also need to adopt security measures to protect sensitive documents by using MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) products such as security toner and security printers. According to TROY Group, a MICR printing solutions provider, these products have been demonstrated to, “significantly cut costs, increase efficiency and virtually eliminate the risk of check fraud.” Many new products are designed to resist tampering and better secure sensitive data.
With the increasing prevalence of data, businesses of today and the futuremust keep data security at the top of their priority list. As we have seen from recent incidences such as the Sony hack and ISIS breach of the US central command’s social media account, no company is immune to a security breach. While businesses may not be completely free of security breaches they can better safeguard their businesses and drastically decrease the amount of risk that comes with handling sensitive data by following the tips listed above.
