How To Keep Your Company’s Data From Getting Into the Wrong Hands
As more employees work virtually and use the Internet to connect to their corporate servers and to engage with coworkers and bosses, it is increasingly important to ensure that your company’s data stays secure. Here are some things you can do now to protect your files from getting into the wrong hands.
Restrict Internet Browsing
If your employees have company computers or are connected to a corporate network, now is the time to put Internet policies in place to help stop a cyber attack. Many wonder what is a cyber attack and how can innocently browsing the Internet on a work computer put me at risk? However, an employee simply clicking on an infected link or visiting a site infected with malware is all it takes to crash their computer and potentially bring your entire network down. Educate your employees on the dangers of browsing on unknown sites and ensure that they understand that only safe, work-related sites should be accessed when using a work computer.
Tidy Your Data Up
If your corporate network is bogged down by old or duplicate files that are no longer needed, it’s time to clean up. Keeping files neatly organized can help keep productivity high, but can also be a great way to prevent cyber attacks. Back any sensitive data up in the cloud, or simply store it offline if possible. In the event of an attack, it will be much easier to restore anything lost if you have backup copies. A messy network full of clutter could make it tough to detect if any files have been breached or altered, so always keep everything safely up to date.
Keep All Software Updated
No one likes running software updates. They always want to run at the least convenient time and often take your computer offline for hours. However, these updates exist for good reason and not just to annoy you. Many program updates contain much more than new features that you may not be interested in installing — some contain security patches and fixes that are essential in protecting your software and entire network. Schedule time to run updates and never click “ignore” when you get a reminder. Saving yourself from a tiny headache can cause myriad problems for your entire company and it’s not worth the risk.
Get Rid of Old Programs
Poll your staff to see if there are any programs on their computers that they rarely or never use. If the same programs keep getting mentioned, consider removing them. Odds are, if no one is using the software, no one is checking to ensure that the software is updated, which means that numerous updates with potential bug fixes and security patches have likely been ignored. Don’t risk your data security over something so easy to fix. Besides, removing old, unused programs can also save your company money.
Limit Access to Data
If an employee doesn’t need access to a certain program, it shouldn’t be on their computer. It is much easier to mass install programs and push them out to the entire company, but this could be a recipe for disaster. For example, the marketing team does not need accounting software, even if they never use it.
Get Everyone on Board
Ensure that everyone — even the busy C-suite — understands the gravity of a company wide cybersecurity strategy and is on board. Employees who see their superiors practicing what they preach are much more likely to want to comply with the new rules and restrictions as well. Hold a cybersecurity strategy meeting with the entire company and allow everyone to ask questions and present ideas about how to keep the company safe. By inviting everyone to engage and encouraging everyone to share ideas, you will foster a sense of community who all is working together toward a common goal.
Working together to keep your company safe from cybercrime can be easy. Follow these tips and you’ll have a cyber-secure setup.
