It’s hard to understate how much cybercrime has increased these days. Over the past two years, internet crime has increased by 60%. If you don’t take the common cyber threats seriously, protecting data online won’t be easy for your business.
You need to be aware of common business data protection mistakes to stay secure. Keep reading to learn four common mistakes to avoid when creating a data protection strategy.
1. Transmitting Unencrypted Data
Many companies are shifting to remote work. Employees are demanding it now that they’ve seen how much gas and time they save every week. On top of that, you require less office space to house your employees.
However, there is a risk if your employees use public and unencrypted networks to access company information. What happens if someone is snooping on an employee’s internet traffic?
Without encrypted data, a hacker can steal sensitive information. Create a VPN account for remote employees to ensure they have encrypted data.
2. Skipping Two-Factor Authentication
If you think a password is enough to protect your online account these days, think again. Even if you enforce strong passwords, there are other ways to compromise accounts. Hackers use malware, phishing, and other methods to steal account information.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) protects you in those situations. Instead of allowing you in your account after entering a password, a 2FA system sends a secondary code to another device.
This code can arrive by email, hardware key, text message, and authentication application. You can’t access an account with a password unless you have access to the authentication method.
3. Not Training Employees
Unfortunately, your employees are one of the weakest links in internet security. Even if you have an excellent security policy, it only takes a mistake from one individual to compromise your business network.
Make sure you have enough training to give people the education they need. One of the best ways to do this is to offer online courses and in-person training to your employees.
You can also create a data safety sheet to help people get a refresher. Find more information here about what a safety sheet entails.
4. Skipping Software Updates
Even if the software you use now does an excellent job of protecting your data, the same won’t always be true. Software isn’t perfect, which means hackers can exploit unknown vulnerabilities. The problem is that it takes time to secure those security holes.
Regular software updates will ensure you don’t fall victim to this type of attack. Keep an eye on your software updates to keep everything in your organization current.
Even if you can’t update immediately because of compatibility concerns, make sure you test updates quickly to solve any problems.
Don’t Fall Victim to the Common Business Data Protection Mistakes
There are more threats than ever on the internet, and the number of threats will likely continue growing in the future. If you don’t take care of your company’s data, you won’t be able to keep your business safe. Avoid the business data protection mistakes above to stay safe in the future.
Of course, you’ll need more knowledge if you want to make the most of tech in your business. Learn more by heading back to the blog.
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