Cyber-Security continues to be a hot topic in this increasingly digital age. Many individuals and organizations have learned the hard way that not taking the proper precautions to secure data and other sensitive IT systems can be a really costly mistake. However, another costly mistake would be to assume that data breach prevention is solely the responsibility of your IT department. Any Cyber-security expert will tell you that successful best practices in preventing a data breach involve the whole company. This guide will give you some practical advice that if implemented will make your entire organization aware, accountable, and involved with securing your company’s information systems. Most data gets stolen not by hackers using sophisticated code to break encryption systems, but because of simple slip-ups and carelessness that are easily preventable.
Educate Your Employees About Best Practices For Passwords.
This is one of the simplest things you can do to protect data, and yet it is something that constitutes a gaping hole in the digital security of many organizations. Many major password ‘no-nos’ are committed because of ignorance or because they seem inconvenient. For example, every member of your organization should know that a password should never be shared under any circumstances. Another important practice for passwords is to never leave them written down in any visible or obvious place, such as underneath a keyboard. Finally get your organization to practice good password strength by utilizing mixtures of letters, numbers, capitalization, and symbols in the creation of passwords.
Emphasize Proper Care and Handling Of Data and Equipment.
A major cause of data theft and loss can come from lost or stolen laptops, flash drives, and other equipment. Companies can prevent this by training employees to know the rules for how to handle any off-site company IT equipment. Having a strong policy that everyone is educated about and making sure that it keeps employees accountable will be a huge step in securing an organization’s data.
HR Departments Are Key For Data Breach Prevention.
The Human Resources Department needs to take point in IT security, especially when it comes to the on-boarding and exiting of employees. Having controls for employees getting access to the correct systems, but only the necessary ones, will help create a safer data environment. Also, making sure that an exiting employee’s user profiles and accounts that could potentially give them access to information are deleted. This goes double for a profile or account that grants remote access to company systems.
About The Author
Jason Denton is a writer for IDTSOA.com, the premier data breach prevention firm.
We help business owners who need data breach response compliance assistance.
