Data Protection Tips: How to Keep Sensitive Information Safe
In order to keep your business safe, you need to keep your data safe. In the digital age, it’s more important than ever that you are taking steps to ensure that your stored data is as protected as possible. With cyber attacks becoming more and more sophisticated, it is essential that you are aware of the risks and the need to minimize any potential gaps in your security. Most people don’t realize this, but the majority of cyberattacks that happen to your network can be prevented, but only if you have implemented software and practices that are of the highest quality – look at this page for more information. So with that being said, the good news is that you can give your security a boost in a number of cost-effective ways, and even if you’re not tech-savvy, the resources and tools available can make your updates hassle-free while giving you that all-important extra layer of security.
Destroy unused hard drives
As you grow as a business, you no doubt update your computers and devices in order to get the most of the technology available. However, if you’re simply discarding your old tech, then you’re leaving your security exposed. Cybercriminals aren’t sitting around waiting for windows of opportunity while staring at their screens, and it’s not unknown for them to look through bins to find hard drives that have been thrown away. Before you discard of your old devices, you need to destroy the hard drives. You can do this with magnets that will wipe the stored data and sanitize your old hard drives easily and efficiently, although, if you’d prefer to use data-wiping software, then there are a variety of options available.
Use the cloud
Whichever cloud platform you opt for, the reason that their use is becoming more common is that they allow you to access your data backup from any device, meaning that you can assess loss and retrieve any data that has been lost. Cloud platforms do require security management, however, and if you’re using platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), then you’re going to want to look at this checklist from Skyhigh for AWS security best practices. While cloud platforms are beneficial for a variety of reasons, it is vital that you keep your security optimized at all times.
Password Security
Weak password security is one of the major causes of data breach incidents. Staff training sessions on the need for strong passwords is essential, and many users are replacing the notion of passwords with passphrases instead. Rather than having easy to guess passwords, passphrases can be much longer sets of characters and can be even easier to remember than the vast number of passwords that you use to log in to your variety of platforms. If you want to maximize your password security, then consider making use of password management systems, which offer a secure way of keeping track of the passwords that you use, no matter what style you use and where you use them.
Keeping your data safe is not simply the best way to protect your accounts. It is also essential when it comes to protecting your staff, your customers, and your employees. Using the best security practices can even be another selling point that you can use to attract more custom.
