Data protection holds significance in the digital era. Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent. Cybercriminals are preying on personal data and business data more than ever. Business data protection is a growing concern when considering the statistics on cyber attacks. If business data is unsafe, everything from finance to branding will be adversely affected. It can also break the company’s goodwill and reputation as customers lose trust.
This blog will reveal powerful strategies that are vital for any business, especially those utilizing managed IT services in Philadelphia. By implementing these tactics, you can significantly support your security posture and ensure the utmost protection for your valuable data.
1. Create a Strategy
Irrespective of the size of the business and the type of industry, comprehensive and detailed IT data security is important for businesses. When the company has a detailed strategy, it knows how to protect the relevant resources and can take appropriate steps proactively. This strategy also helps you to stay one step ahead of the situation.
2. Encrypt Everything
The defenses may need to be stronger to stop hackers. They might breach your firewall or can someone into opening a phishing email attachment. The ability to read your data is necessary for them to sell or otherwise abuse it. An encrypted database ensures that hackers have nothing, even if they manage to access, copy, and flee with thousands of lines of customer data. Even a skilled hacker will discover that they have thousands of entirely incomprehensible lines that can only be understood with the encryption key.
3. Scan for Vulnerabilities
Vulnerabilities are flaws and security gaps in the software that your company uses. Every software has one shortcoming, and it is important to be watchful about software vulnerabilities. Vulnerability detection allows you to look at your software and measure for evident weaknesses in security or possibly harmful inefficiencies. It looks for vulnerabilities in software that someone with malicious intent might use to get entry or cause harm.
4. Patching and Updating
The most common solution for a discovered vulnerability is a software patch. If the scanning software can find the bug, the original developers will find it, fix it, and release an update. The update may or may not be optional. However, always carry out the update and whether you have enabled automatic updates is up to you. To address security flaws and allow automatic updates for Microsoft and third-party software, keep an eye out for optional updates and patches.
5. Whitelist Wifi
You want to avoid anyone nearby connecting because your business’s wifi network should be used only to communicate with the hub and other devices. Even though password protection is more secure, if every member of your staff knows the password, it is not a secret. The quickest solution is to approve each employee’s and company’s wifi device individually.
This stops hackers and malicious devices from connecting and potentially infecting new employee devices. When employees want to connect a new device, they must present it to an IT specialist, who will approve the device before granting access.
6. Scan All New Devices
The BYOD (bring your device) trend raises the possibility of an infected device. Who would want to spend months protecting their network from outside threats only to have a mobile device brought to work by an employee bring in a dangerous malware infection? Your IT team will be able to identify infected devices before they connect by limiting wifi access and even cleaning the devices for users. You can even automate device scanning and perform regular checks on all company devices to keep malware and viruses out of the network.
7. Never Store Passwords
The most inconvenient aspect of network security is passwords. Although the strength of mixed-character passwords versus long-phrase passwords is still a contention, both sides concur that how your passwords are stored is just as crucial as their strength. Keep no record of your passwords in plain text at any time.
However, keeping your passwords in your web browser poses the biggest risk. Despite how convenient this might be, convenience always goes against security. Additionally, your browser starts up in your name and logs you into everything with a single click. This implies that anyone using a synced device or sitting at your desk can now access your accounts.
8. Restrict File Sharing
Similarly, the more files, servers, and devices your network shares, the more risky it becomes. If a burglar breaks in, this simple file access will make it simpler for them to identify what they’re looking for and run away. Of course, file sharing is essential in modern companies, so you’ll constantly need some supplies on hand. When not in use, consider isolating permissions and turning off sharing. Microsoft Cloud App Security can be used for the files that are currently being shared or shared only occasionally during the day. This will allow you to see more than just what is being done and what is not.
9. Wiping a Remote Device
Employee devices always have access to or contain corporate data. The device is only regarded as secure in your employee’s hands if it is at home, keeping private information, or logging into the company cloud. If they indicate it was stolen, lost, or borrowed, you may need to delete it remotely. The only way to do this is first to install the app.
Ensure that every employee’s device is set up and permissions are signed before that occurs. Thankfully, your employees will have no trouble performing the remote wipe. The recovery or replacement of the phone, tablet, or laptop is effortless when a regular backup system is available.
10. Remove Old Data
Businesses frequently use multiple internal servers and external hosts when storing data. It’s all too simple to lose track of the amount of data you’ve archived, backed up, lost, or deleted in a folder that no longer exists. Conduct an annual data audit and delete any old data that is no longer useful. If so, consider deleting any personally identifiable information and only keeping the survey data you want on file.
11. Be Cautious of Public WiFI
Public wifi networks that are unsecured and available to everyone are unreliable. They are readily accessible, readily available, and frequently provided by reliable companies. However, hackers often use them as a point of entry. Employees should be told to turn off the built-in wifi. In addition, keep an eye out for public wifi networks that appear unexpectedly inside your building.
Conclusion
Data security is essential for both businesses and individuals. Compromising of data can cause significant loss and possibly harm goodwill, which can only be temporarily fixed. Remember that prevention is always better than falling prey into vulnerabilities. So always go ahead with appropriate security measures.
