Data Loss Prevention and Your Business: Best Practices and How to Recover From Data Breaches

Data loss prevention has become increasingly important. A number of business processes have moved online. Payments are made online through platforms like PayPal and other platforms. Important tax information is integrated between PayPal and QuickBooks. Protecting each area of integration is incredibly important. A determined hacker can and will try every avenue to gain access to particular pieces of information. Keeping passwords on a need-to-know basis only is going to be very important. If an employee only knew their logins then once this is changed, they will have no access to any others. You would be surprised the damage an employee can do if they gain access to company emails then delete important emails from clients. Below are some best practices for data loss prevention and how to recover from a data breach. 

Strict Policies on Use of Company Devices

The use of company devices needs to be managed carefully. A number of people have started opting to use their own computers or phones for professional purposes. A careless employee that has quite a bit of access can put a company of any size in trouble. Pieces of training and policies on usage of devices should be instituted. There are parts of the internet company devices should never venture. Prohibitive policies like not connecting to a public network should be set. There could be malicious users that established the network just to steal information. 

Regularly Inform and Train/Educate Employees on Safest Practices 

Taking a few hours per month to make sure that employees are changing passwords and updating security on their devices is important. Training employees about the newest ways that malicious hacks are occurring can be a huge topic to cover. There are so many ways including fake websites that are used to steal credit card information of companies and individuals. Tell employees to search the text of emails that they think might be sent to steal information. Templates are available for hackers and many copy then paste a template in order to convince the recipient to put in their information. Looking to see the email the message originated from is an easy way to tell if the sender is who they say they are. 

Let Clients Know if Information Has Been Compromised Immediately 

Client information being leaked can be the worst news you give a client. Healthy relationships can weather this storm while new relationships might be terminated. The odds are that most companies understand that this can happen to everyone as long as the damage was not too catastrophic. Trying to hide the fact that data was leaked should not be done, and the client should be notified of the breach immediately. This means the client should know about this before the company knows which information was accessed maliciously. 

Constantly Update Security and Hire a Digital Security Firm if Needed 

Hiring a digital security firm to combat attacks is important as these companies utilize the best technology available. There is software that uses artificial intelligence to stay a step ahead of a hacker that has gained access to a system. Take a look at the different reviews of the company as many firms might simply hope a hack doesn’t occur and then will collect their monthly fees. Quality companies, on the other hand, will take an active approach with a company ensuring all information is kept safe. Hiring a team in-house might be far too expensive as digital security experts require quite a bit in terms of salary. 

Pay for Employees’ Identity Theft Monitoring Service

Paying for employee identity theft monitoring services can be a great idea. This will notify them if their information has been compromised and if their company device/other information is at risk. An employee data leak stopped at its origin is going to be far easier for management to handle. Multiple people having their identities stolen will lead to some less-than-positive attitudes in the office. People that work constantly on the computer will also appreciate this as information can be stolen on eCommerce sites or through viruses. 

Keeping the data of employees, customers, and company secrets safe provides peace of mind. Online security could be the most important aspect of business in today’s digital age. Nobody wants to work for or with a company that could leak sensitive information. Do not think your business is above a hacker or disgruntled employee leaking important information. Target and Home Depot both had to pay millions of dollars due to the information that had been hacked. Preventing data loss should be the priority, while companies that have had a breach need to address it and be honest with clients. Do not be reactive in these situations, as a proactive approach will allow a company to avoid issues totally.