3 Essential Security Measures to Secure Your Business Data

GDPR laws enacted by the European Union sent shockwaves across the business world. No one operating online was safe from their reach, no matter where they were based. The regulations brought in some chilling new consequences for failures to protect personal data. Yet, it wasn’t just GDPR that shook things up in 2018.

A series of high-profile legal cases revolving around the usage and acquisition of customer information brought the issue of data protection to the forefront of everyone’s minds—from CEOs to consumers. Even with giants like Google and Facebook under fire, there is nowhere to hide anymore.

Businesses need to take care of their customer information. Failure to do so can have massive ramifications. Many companies have already fallen foul of new regulations. If you don’t consider your security measures carefully, it’s only a matter of time until governing authorities are banging on your door.

The best way to secure your business against data protection disaster is preventive actions. Building impenetrable practices ensure compliance and reduce risk. The best way to do that is by investing in the proper tools for the job.

Advanced Document Encryption

Data encryption is not a new concept. One famous historical example is the Enigma Machines used by the Nazi’s in World War 2. The practice works simply by scrambling data into random patterns. The only way to unlock the pattern is by having the “key.” If someone accesses the information without the key, it is unusable.

Data encryption is a core part of digital data sharing and storage. Businesses hoping to achieve high-security document safety should consider investing in software that provides top-level encryption technology. By encrypting data properly, you add protection to digital documents. If a hacker or cybercriminal were to enter your system and access your customer documents, or steal data being transmitted, the files would be utterly useless and unreadable.

Encryption keeps information safe, reducing the chances of your business facing the consequences of having consumer data exposed.

Biometric Security Safes

Digital document security isn’t all you should be concerned with—your physical documents are at risk as well. Paper files are vulnerable to all kinds of access issues. While locking down physical files can be hard, it must be done. These files may contain customer data. If this data is accessed by the wrong person then you face serious consequences. It could be stolen, it could be copied or damaged—anything could happen to it.

If something does go wrong, and you break data protection regulations, your business is in trouble. Securing your paper files through high-security methods is your safest bet for negating business liability. But how do you do it?

Safes offer the ultimate in protection for paper documents. Impenetrable barriers that limit access, they ensure any files kept behind their metal casing are secure and compliant with data protection regulations. However, not all safes are created equal. In a busy business environment, where many people are present and access needs to be limited, keeping control of who can enter the safe is difficult.

Codes can be discovered and passed on, keys can be lost, combinations can be guessed. Enter biometric security safes.

Biometric safes are encoded to only allow entry to specific people based on security protocols such as fingerprint recognition and iris scans. They cannot be duped. Access codes cannot be stolen or guessed. The result is that even in high-intensity environments with lots of people and the potential for access to be given away, that it simply cannot be. Only those given access have access, ensuring absolute document safety.

Diverse and Comprehensive Security Training

Human error is a major part of data security—4 in 5 of the top causes of data breaches are directly related to staff mistakes and ignorance. Unfortunately, it is your employees that are putting your business at risk most of the time.

But there is a silver lining to this fact. If your employees are the problem, that also means they are the solution. If you can stop them from making mistakes, you can stop many problems associated with data protection and commit to better compliance. What does this come down to?

Training and awareness.

Security of data should not be an afterthought—it needs to be built into the very fabric of task management and work procedures. Any facet of operation that concerns the handling, storage or acquisition of personal customer data requires an expert level of training that develops a deep understanding of the implications and responsibilities involved with ownership of such information.

Simply put, your business needs to run comprehensive training programs and awareness campaigns. Do so on a regular basis whenever there are updates to regulations or there is a chance employees are becoming slack or too comfortable in their roles. If data protection is always at the forefront of your staff’s minds—with each knowing how to properly manage it—the risks of human error is significantly reduced.