Six Steps to Safer Business Data

Ensuring the security of your data is extremely important. If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that any unauthorized access to sensitive information can result in severe consequences for your business. The problem is that today’s cybercriminal tactics have become increasingly sophisticated, posing a constant challenge to organizational data security. Today, we look at six things you can do to keep your data secure.

Regularly Update and Patch Systems

It’s important to keep all software updated to their most current versions. Outdated software and systems are susceptible to exploitation. Having a regular patch and update strategy or leaning into automated updates can be good solutions to ensure that your applications are up-to-date and doing all they can to protect your organization’s data. 

Encrypt Sensitive Data

Another good practice is to add an extra layer of protection by encrypting sensitive data. This ensures that even if unauthorized users gain access to the system, encryption renders the data unreadable without the appropriate decryption key. Today, there are solutions to encrypt data in transit and at rest. Essentially, all of your desktops and laptops should be encrypted, as well as any device that stores data and leaves the office.

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication

Businesses routinely strengthen their defense against unauthorized access by adopting robust authentication strategies. Most notably, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) works to go beyond traditional usernames and passwords by implementing additional authentication protection.

Institute Comprehensive Training

It’s staggering how much human error plays a significant role in data breaches. To combat this, you need to provide comprehensive training on security best practices to your staff, emphasizing the identification of phishing attempts and the importance of password management. Educated employees are more likely to resist more security threats.

Conduct Regular Security Audits

Regular security audits are crucial for identifying vulnerabilities within your system. To make sure that your network and infrastructure are consistently secure you’ll need to conduct thorough assessments to uncover potential weak points. Regular audits allow for proactive measures to address security issues before they can be exploited.

Limit User Access and Permissions

Adopting what cybersecurity professionals call the principle of least privilege (PoLP) can go a long way toward controlling who has access to your organization’s IT. By restricting user access and permissions to the minimum required for their roles, you actively mitigate risk as it limits potential damage in the event of unauthorized access. Regularly review and update user access permissions to align with organizational needs.

You can’t sit around and wait to be a victim. To explore the security tools and strategies our technicians use to manage other Washington Metropolitan business’ technology, give us a call today at (703) 743-3056.