Nowadays, companies have become important to protect their data, irrespective of their size. Not just big organizations like Orbitz, Quora, and Facebook are making headlines in data breach cases, but the mid-sized and small companies are also in great trouble.
Not to mention, 60% of the companies facing cyber-attacks go out of business within six months. The increase in data protection regulations has made it an emergency for all organizations to use solid data protection measures.
Ensuring data protection is not the companies’ only need to do. They must also ensure that their data protection measures are by the law. Failing to do so can result in lawsuits and damage the reputation of a company, thus bringing in great losses.
So, let us now have a look at the modern ways of keeping company data confidential:
Go for Mail Forwarding Services
Business mail forwarding service offers several data safeguard benefits. You will get a personal mailbox number that only you can access and is not available to any individual without your consent. Only you and the contacts listed in your account will access your virtual mailbox. Everything happens on request, from mail forwarding and snacking to mail trashing and shredding.
All your mails remain untouched in the virtual mailbox, itemized by date. All the items within are tagged using an exclusive barcode. If any problems arise with any emails or packages, you can pinpoint the issue instantly. So, if you are opening a company in the United Kingdom, opting for business mail forwarding UK service is crucial.
Use Encryption throughout Your Corporate Board
From encrypted USBs, phones, and hard drives to encrypted data before its transfer to any portable device or the cloud, encryption is one essential step companies can take to protect sensitive information.
There are two weaknesses causing data breaches: an increase in the remote work culture and a workforce that is always on the move. And it is encryption that can tackle both these vulnerabilities.
Encryption ensures that sensitive data contained in different devices remains inaccessible to outsiders. This is highly advantageous in this modern era where devices tend to frequently leave the safety of a company’s networks.
With proper encryption in place, organizations no longer need to worry about securing confidential company data in case of loss or theft.
Train Employees on Using the Best Network Security Measures
These days, more and more employees prefer working from their mobile devices and laptops within corporate settings. However, this is not good for the data security concerns of a company.
Outdated operating systems or improper encryption on the employee devices can result in data leakage. In addition, unprotected smartphones can make way for malware into an organization’s corporate network.
Therefore, training the employees on security measures is crucial. The employees should get an idea of phishing emails in advance. Employees should also be careful about the way they are using different public file-sharing programs like OwnCloud, JungleDisk, and Dropbox.
Safeguarding Passwords is Very Important
Passwords are simple, but scammers and fraudsters can easily optimize them to fortify company data and confidential information. Complex passwords are a nuisance to keep in mind, but they offer heightened protection.
Try making all your passwords as long as possible by embedding numbers along with other special characters within them. Your passwords should have at least 8 to 10 characters, so the guesswork gets difficult.
It is also a safety measure to change passwords very often. At the same time, using credentials can also help. They are not words but combinations of numbers, special characters, and letters.
For maintaining the highest standards of company data protection, you can also employ password managers who take care of the passwords. However, this is a service that only the larger companies can afford.
Using Confidential Shredders and Waste Bins Also Works
Digital data is all the rage these days. But, still, companies are dealing with paperwork regularly. Using papers for jotting down-sensitive company information means you need to shred them safely. What about using a confidential shredder or waste bin?
They help reduce the cases of identity theft. Using such products within the corporate setting is important. That’s because the corporations are in the habit of assuming that just because a paper has gone into the bin, no one will ever view it.
Scaling Down Helps
Scaling down involves keeping only what is needed for business. At times, sensitive and personally-identifying information is not required for future reference. So, it is better to get rid of it instead of collecting it over time.
If there is this legitimate business requirement for some information, it is better to keep it only until needed. Then, once its job is over, scale the information down.
Scaling down the access of data for employees is also very important. This means the employees should have access to only those resources they need to do a particular job.
Study current information flows and perform risk assessment
It’s essential to understand current workflows, both procedurally and in practice, to see how confidential information flows around an organization. Identifying the major business processes that involve confidential information is a straightforward exercise, but determining the risk of leakage requires a more in-depth examination. Organizations need to ask themselves the following questions of each major business process:
- Which participants touch these information assets?
- How are these assets created, modified, processed or distributed by these participants?
- What is the chain of events?
- Is there a gap between stated policies/procedures and actual behavior?
By analyzing information flows with these questions in mind, companies can quickly identify vulnerabilities in their handling of sensitive information.
Conclusion
Protecting confidential company information is a journey and not a one-time event. Fundamentally, it requires a systematic way of identifying sensitive data, understanding present business procedures, crafting the right access, and monitoring internal and external communications. Thus, keep all these in mind and follow the ways mentioned above to keep all your company’s data confidential.
Protecting confidential information assets throughout an enterprise is a journey rather than a one-time event. It fundamentally requires a systematic way to identify sensitive data; understand current business processes; craft appropriate access, usage and distribution policies; and monitor outgoing and internal communications. Ultimately, what is most important to understand are the potential costs and ramifications of not establishing a system to secure nonpublic information from the inside out.
