Communication and collaboration in businesses have never been more accessible. Our age of technology has allowed employees to be able to work in the comfort of their homes. And we can freely access company documents and information through our laptops and mobile phones, further increasing company productivity and efficiency.
However, the ease of creative, collaborative work and communication has also given hackers more opportunities to siphon sensitive company data about products, employees, and customer information. Business owners worth their salt how valuable it is to keep this information safe and away from prying eyes.
It is no wonder that companies will try their absolute best to keep this data private and protected. With so much information and most of it unprotected coming in and out of the company, how can you prevent data leaks from happening?
What Can You Do?
It’s important to note that legal action should only be a last resort when dealing with this type of scenario. If necessary, you might have to hire a trusted business attorney when it comes to this matter. Information leakage is a serious legal matter and can quickly tarnish a company’s reputation if it is not addressed.
Implement Data Leak Prevention (DLP) Strategies
Having a data leak prevention strategy can ensure that sensitive data does not leave authorized data banks and networks. Data prevention strategies must outline processes and solutions that must be implemented in your company. Data leak prevention strategies also ensure that all the data coming in and out of the company are tracked.
The best way to formulate this strategy is by working closely with your IT department to ensure that your back-end support is secure from any cyberattack that might attempt to steal sensitive company information.
Train Employees About Cybersecurity
Your employees must be briefed and trained for cybersecurity procedures. Companies should not assume that employees are well-versed in security measures. Even if an employee’s actions were not intended to leak confidential information, it could still happen due to little or no cybersecurity training.
It is critical that the onboarding process includes cybersecurity training and that the company carry out regular bi-monthly cybersecurity training refresher courses. Regular training and refresher courses will hammer the importance of cybersecurity in your employees and train them to be more accountable for their business processes.
Hire a Cybersecurity Service
In the world of cybersecurity, there are two types of hackers. Black-hat hackers’ sole purpose is to gather information on your company through malicious means such as phishing, malware, and social engineering. They then use the stolen data to blackmail and steal from the company. However, white-hat hackers will hack your cybersecurity system to find vulnerabilities and patch those vulnerabilities up.
That is why it is vital to hire a cybersecurity team to protect company and customer data from any would-be hackers. This security team could also proactively block hackers and, in some cases, even trace these hackers so that the authorities can then arrest them.
Endpoint Protection
If your company uses numerous computers and devices, a robust security system must be in place to protect your employees and company data. Endpoint methods can allow data administrators to control which employee has access to specific data and see which data is being taken out and accessed.
Since data is closely monitored, potential leaks can then be prevented ahead of time, which lets your IT department or cybersecurity team patch up the vulnerability resulting in an overall boost in cybersecurity.
Protect Your System with Unique Passwords
Protect all your company computers and data banks with unique passwords. Passwords that are case-sensitive and contain special characters can significantly increase the time it takes for hackers to crack the password by over a hundred to a thousand years, even if they’re running a supercomputer. A cybersecurity study has found that passwords such as “12345” will take hackers 0.5 seconds to hack. In contrast, passwords with a mix of letters and numbers can take hackers hundreds of years to crack because of the infinite number of possibilities.
Change Passwords Regularly
While it might take hackers thousands of years to crack a unique password, regularly changing passwords can make it impossible for them to hack into your system via passwords. It is equally critical that you change passwords after the departure of any employees who have had access to sensitive company information.
Cybersecurity is paramount, especially if you want to maintain customer trust and loyalty. Even a small leak such as a customer’s first name can have devastating effects on brand image. Even though hackers have evolved their methods of hacking, so do our cybersecurity methods. Always be vigilant for any potential threats and vulnerabilities and work closely with your cybersecurity team or IT department.