Top 5 Tips to Avoid a Security Breach

2021 has already proven to be a great year for hackers. There have been a number of cyber-attacks on major companies around the world such as Bonobos, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Hobby Lobby to name just a few. Companies are more vulnerable to the growing threat of security breaches than ever before.

So, what exactly is a security breach and why should you be worried about it? A security breach can give unauthorized access to crucial or private data, services, and networks to individuals who may exploit this information. These malicious intruders can bypass complex security mechanisms by finding loopholes and taking advantage of them. Any business which handles critical data like credit card information for handling customer payments can be under a potential threat of a security breach and should protect itself before it is too late.

How to Avoid a Security Breach

Here are five tips on how you can avoid a potential data breach to save your business.

1. Limit Access to Sensitive Data

Many data breaches are caused by employees accidentally or intentionally leaking sensitive data, sometimes ex-employees can also expose critical information that can be damaging to the company. One way to avoid this scenario is to give employees limited access to sensitive data. Employees should only be allowed to access information that is relevant to their work, and once an employee leaves the company, their privileges need to be taken away immediately.

2. Use Company Devices and Emails

Having a company email is crucial for you to monitor what information is passed around between employees. It is ideal to provide employees with devices that they can handle their business documents on, since personal devices are not suitable for carrying sensitive information.

3. Strengthen Password Security

Passwords are important in keeping information secure. But in order to achieve that level of security the passwords must be unpredictable and random. You need to make sure your employees change their passwords every six months and keep them private from everyone else.

4. Use Cloud Based Services

Placing all firm and client data on the cloud can be a good backup but your data needs to be secure. There are many low cost cloud services but you should always entrust your data to one that you can depend on. Usually cloud providers are every stringent about their security and the systems are regularly monitored for malicious activity. While cloud services are a good way to back up your data, always make sure to create backup in multiple places, such as a hard disk to prevent data loss.

5. Create a Security Plan

Make security your top priority from the get go and create a well functioning plan to identify or combat a security breach if the need arises. Educate your employees on how to keep their information secure, periodically review your security policies with your clients, and take external help of professional security firms to further stabilize your security strategies.

Every year the world sees new examples of security breaches that compromise personal information and take the world by storm. It seems that hackers are improving their methods day by day, and now it is up to businesses to fortify their security mechanisms to protect themselves.