Every year, a large company falls victim to a massive data breach. Companies from Target to Yahoo! have lost millions of dollars because of these security attacks. In the past five years, over one billion people have become a victim of corporate hacking. In this post, we are explaining 5 Ways to Keep your Company Data Safe
According to USA Today, these are the biggest data breaches of all time:
- Yahoo! – 500 million September 2016
- MySpace – 360 million September 2016
- UnderArmor – 150 million March 2018
- Equifax – 145.5 million September 2017
- Ebay – 145 million May 2019
These corporate hacking attacks are not isolated to large companies. In fact, a smaller company could find itself more vulnerable since many of these businesses do not have sufficient malware protection. To prevent a costly and potentially embarrassing data breach incident, follow these 5 steps to keep your company’s data safe.
1). Get a Sign-On Tool
There are a number of data security companies that offer sign-on tools that can help keep all of your corporate devices safe. These tools are designed to be easy to use for employees at any level. And it will also help prevent outside people from accessing your company’s data.
2). Have Two-Factor Authentication
While having a sign on the tool is helpful in protecting your data, it is not foolproof. If one of your employees leaves their password exposed, then an unauthorized person can use that password to get into your data. Two-factor authentication can make it much harder for someone to get into your company’s data. These types of advanced authentications can include a password plus a second layer of security such as an authorized device or even a digital scan of a fingerprint.
3). Have Multiple People in Charge of Data Protection
You never, ever want to have one person in charge of all of your data. If you have a falling out with that employee, that IT executive can easily hold your data hostage or find sneaky ways to make your data vulnerable to future attacks. Your company should have at least two people in charge of data security. And each of these IT executives should have the ability to monitor the other’s activities.
4). Consistently Change Passwords
You can count on attempted malware attacks on your data systems each and every day. Occasionally, a hacker can get lucky and guess one of your employee’s passwords. Therefore, you must make sure that your employees change their passwords every few months to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
5). Regularly Scan for Malware
The best malware protection strategy is to consistently scan your systems for potential viruses. For instance, there are a number of apps that can scan Windows platforms. Your IT department should have a plan in place to scan all of your corporate devices and data systems for malware.
You can protect your company from costly data breaches by following these 5 steps:
- Get a sign-on tool for all your corporate devices
- Have two-factor authentication
- By multiple people in charge of your company’s data systems
- Have your employees regularly change their passwords
- Regularly scan for malware
