Either it is a big company or business which operates on small scale, it is essential to have your company’s sensitive data protected.
What happens when your company’s Sensitive Data is leaked?
What are the reasons for data leakage? What are the consequences you have to face after the data breach? Before answering the above questions, let us first answer ‘What is a data breach?’
A data breach can be described as your company’s sensitive, confidential or protected data being stolen by an unauthorized person. In other words, it is your company’s most important information that has been copied, transmitted or stolen by some individual who is not supposed to view it.
The five major reasons for Data Leakage and their Consequences:
- Password Protection: It is by far the most common reason for data leakage and that too in this era when any computer, laptop or devices can be hacked. If you keep a simple password protection system to protect your sensitive data, you are indeed making a grave mistake. It is by far the same as giving a green signal to an unauthorized individual to enter and view your information.
This can allow the hackers to hack in easily and copy, transmit or steal all your information.
- Trusting Blindly: Most people tend to gain your trust, just to get their hands on the private data that is necessary to exploit your company’s reputation in public and can even cause you major loss. No one can be blindly trusted with your company’s sensitive information unless you know that person inside out.
Trusting anyone blindly with this kind of sensitive information can lead to a data breach of your customers which can cause a great issue to them.
- Accident: It is sometimes possible that your programmes have made your database available to the public or search engines, in error. This is the time when the people who wish to hack your system, get the full access to your database which they can save and use in future to slaughter your company.
It may cause the customer’s to lose trust in your company’s security policies and ultimately in your company as well.
- Human Error: Sometimes logging into computers is not necessary for a data leak to occur. It can simply be the fault of your employees. Data can be lost even in the old fashioned way through paperwork.
This could lead to theft of paperwork. Hackers can get hold of the documents and may upload them on the web
- System Malfunction: There can be times when data leak is no one’s fault. It can be the fault of the system that you are working on. Glitches can occur anytime due to application failure, accidental data dumps and errors in transfer of data.
Although there are no culprits for this situation, it can cause serious consequences to the company’s profile.
Here are The five remedies or security practices that you need to undertake to protect your company’s sensitive data from being leaked.
- Usage of Strong Password Protection System:
A strong password is always necessary for your sensitive data. A double passcode lock system is preferable where the first password is used to verify the credentials, and the second one to access the files, documents, folders, etc.
- Keeping the Keys to Yourself:
It is better to handle these sensitive matters of reckoning yourself rather than trusting someone. Keep the sensitive data of the company secure. Keep the extremely crucial documents with yourself, out of the reach of anyone else. Don’t give the same level of access to every level of employees. Designate the duties in groups and hold the keys to yourself.
- Education from Top to Bottom:
Educate your employees about the consequences of losing data. Arrange training programmes for every person in your company, from the top level to the bottom level. Arranging training programmes would bear some minor cost, and that is bearable to the company’s safety. Make sure that no one makes any crucial mistake in doing their work, which would cost your company fortunes.
- Keeping an Eye on the Proceedings:
Do not just assign the task, train the employees and sit back. That is the major mistake many of the people do while managing. Get involved. Keep an eye on what’s going on. Frequently meet the employees personally and check their work. This automatically takes care of the employees not making an error.
- Being Updated:
Be updated with the system that you are working on. Keep your anti-virus and system security up to date. This will help your operations to be more easy and protected.
Pro Tip: Protect your IP network with VPN to ensure another layer of security for your data. There are also a few VPNs that are at your service free of cost, read about the best ones here: https://vpnpro.com/best-free-vpn-services/
As a business owner, you need to consider these practices as the tools to prevent the company’s sensitive data breach. Take the time to educate your employees on these points and make sure that they also bring the same level of awareness to the workplace.
