Data is crucial for the success of any company. However, the same data could lead to financial and reputational damages if not kept private and confidential. Data that a company holds includes not only the important business future plans but also sensitive information of its clients or customers as well as employees.
With the advancement of technology, what’s great is that you can get your hands on data privacy software to make all your data privacy procedures robust. In addition, you can implement five practical ways to improve data privacy, which we’ll share in this article.
1. Get Rid of Redundant Data
It’s essential always to keep track of the data stored with you. Especially companies operating in the healthcare, finance, and education industries hold a lot of sensitive data and need to protect it at all costs.
Monitoring the data will ensure you know what type of data is no longer required. If it isn’t needed by your company anymore, you must get rid of it. Your company should have a system in place to safely erase, shred, or modify data so it’s of no use to anyone in case it gets in the hands of the wrong person.
2. Test Your Security
While you may think that having the best antivirus system installed on your computer will keep all the potential data privacy breaches at bay, it would be worth looking at your company’s security protocols.
Make sure only authorized individuals have access to a room that contains all the confidential information. Install cameras in places where you think the risk of a data breach is higher. Don’t allow your employees to stick notes on their desks containing sensitive passwords.
3. Back Up Everything
Make sure you back up everything in case of a data privacy breach, which can lead to lowered productivity and adversely affect the operations of your company.
You never know when you lose access to data crucial to the success of your business. This way, you may end up losing a million dollars on lost sales and operations.
Not to mention, lawsuits, fines, and damaged customer trust can also impact your profit margins.
Therefore, you should always keep a backup of your data in another off-site location or in a cloud system with high security to prevent disrupted operations.
4. Restrict Personal Email Use
Most employees like using their personal email for business purposes and use the same account for streaming services, online shopping, and whatnot.
You certainly don’t want cybercriminals to get access to their email account and also to your business’s critical data. You should create strict rules that every employee should only use a verified company email to prevent any data privacy issues down the road.
5. Set Up Strong Passwords
Whether you’re creating passwords for your device that contains sensitive data or company accounts, you need to make sure they are strong and unique enough to restrict cyber perpetrators from hacking.
When creating strong passwords, make sure they are at least 10 characters long and contain a mix of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. Also, store passwords in a secure place to make sure only authorized individuals have access.
