The risks of losing data and being exposed to security breaches are inevitable once you work in a virtual environment. It even gets to the point where hackers can access your organisation’s sensitive data or hack the website in a few minutes.
We are in the era of cloud where most companies rely on the Internet because it’s the most effective platform for productivity, income generation and communication, but security breaches have become rampant as well, affecting IT vendors’ sales of products and services.
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However, prevention to security breach is possible. Here are eight practical ways on how to protect your corporate data:
- Audit existing IT infrastructure – It’s highly recommended to work with security experts to audit your existing IT infrastructure. This will protect the modern enterprise’s systems, data and application. Make sure the computers, VMs, mobile devices and network are audited.
- Always encrypt your data – Make it a habit of encrypting your data online. Use a strong security tool like a 256-bit encryption to avoid data theft. This will prevent hackers from accessing your website and network.
- Use strong passwords – While this is common sense, most of the time, we tend to create weak passwords, so that it is easier for us to remember. Creating strong passwords in all accounts can help protect and secure any data you might have. Chris Pirillo once said, “Passwords are like underwear: you don’t let people see it, you should change it very often, and you shouldn’t share it with strangers.”
- Update your security policies – After the overall audit of IT infrastructure, make sure you update the existing security policies. There might be some infrastructure changes after finding the vulnerabilities. It’s best to update them to avoid risks in the future.
- Use strong device policy if necessary – If your organisation is working in a cloud environment, employees can run applications using their mobile devices whether in a centralised managed server or in the cloud itself. If the devices are stolen or compromised, corporate data are at risk. It’s best to implement strong device policy and tools like iCloud or Android Device Manager that can remotely wipe out the data or deactivate the devices. While this is somehow scary, it can be helpful if proper policies are implemented.
- Regularly back up your data – Security and back up complement one another. While the former is necessary, take note that regular back up guarantees that you know where to find the data you’ve just secured. You can use a reputable vendor for a secure cloud backup solution or integrate your online storage with a scalable cloud service provider that offers a private cloud.
- Educate and train the staff on security policies – It’s highly recommended that you train everyone within your organisation regarding the security policies to ensure that they know the changes being made every now and then. While hackers can access your network without setting foot in your office, the staff is your frontline defense against breaches. You have to keep in mind that you work with people and that they have the tendency to commit errors. It’s best that you make them vigilant against attacks.
- Check your cloud provider’s security policies – Before deploying the cloud, make sure you partner with a cloud service provider that has transparent information on security policies. Work with an IT security expert and feel free to compare the security policies and privacy notice of cloud service provider you want to partner with.
“Prevention is better than cure,” an adage is often quoted. When it comes to corporate data, the last thing you would do is compromise your customers’ private information.
Author Bio: Patrick Li is a tech addict who’s looking at ways to streamline business performance using cloud technology and other new services.