5 Tips for Protecting Your Organization’s Data

Your data is one of the most important assets. Reports show that 84% of consumers will stay loyal to companies that have strong cybersecurity protocols in place. A data breach will break your customers’ trust, affect your reputation and market performance, and cost you millions of dollars. So, what can you do to protect your business data?

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Have a Security Plan in Place

Create a comprehensive plan that includes all the steps your employees will have to take as well as the tools they need to use, and the role they are playing in the security plan.

If your employees have trouble understanding the procedures and processes they need to follow, organize training sessions so that they understand their roles and tasks better.

Make sure to review your plan regularly, every six months, or at least once a year.

2. Stay Updated with the Cybersecurity Landscape

Hackers update their tools and processes constantly and you need to stay one step ahead of them if you want to keep your data safe. Stay up to date with the new strategies cyber criminals are using to target companies and determine the best ways to prevent and stop an attack.

3. Use Data Encryption

Make sure that sensitive data is stored and shared in an encrypted form. Strong encryption usually includes between 128 and 256-bit ciphers that are available in a variety of forms.

4. Use Mulți-Factor Authentication

Mulți-factor authentication (or MFA) will make it more difficult for hackers to breach your systems. As such, they are more likely to give up trying to attack you and focus on companies with a weaker authentication process.

An MFA uses several factors, such as a password, a security token, and a biometric element. Only when these elements are combined, you can get access to your data.

5. Data Backup

While all these preventive measures will help you reduce the possibility of a cyber attack, it’s also best to have a plan in place in case a data breach occurs. Back up your data so that in case your data is stolen or access to it is denied because of ransomware, you can easily recover it.

We Can Help You Protect Your Business Data

With West County Computers, you can get a free IT risk assessment to determine how safe your systems are. If you’re unsure what the best next steps are for your business, contact us now by filling out the online contact form, or by calling us at 707-360-8652.