Top Five Ways to Guard Against Data Theft

Guest Post
Businesses deal with sensitive data on a regular basis – and if this data falls into the wrong hands, it could severely compromise the reputation and security of a company and its clients. That’s why it’s important for all businesses, whether large or small, to protect their data and documentation properly. Your business can ensure its data security in a number of ways. Some simply require the changing of old habits, whilst some may require a cash outlay – but such an outlay is nothing compared to the disastrous consequences should your business suffer a data theft.

Password Protection
Use password protection for all devices, including laptops and smartphones as well as your company’s networks and accounts. Encourage staff to create unique passwords for all online accounts, using combinations of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers and other characters.

Antivirus Software
Protect your computer from viruses, spyware and malware by installing reliable antivirus software. A strong firewall is also necessary, as are regularly-installed updates. Many staff will choose not to install updates as it is time-consuming – but this leaves their computers at risk of attack.

Email Security
Ignore emails from unfamiliar parties, even if they have appeared in your inbox rather than your junk mail. Any emails asking you to verify details such as credit card or account numbers ought to immediately set off warning bells and should be ignored.

Employee Training
Even if you’re confident that your trade secrets are safe with you, it doesn’t mean your employees are also keeping schtum - and they may not even realise when they’re giving away confidential data. Make it clear to your employees what aspects of your business they are and are not allowed to share with others.

Data Destruction
The only sure-fire way to protect your data is to ensure that once it’s no longer needed, it is destroyed. Document shredding companies such as Datashredders can visit your premises in a mobile shredding vehicle to provide full shredding services, not only for paper documents, but also laptops, hard drives, data discs and more, providing a Certificate of Destruction upon completion of the job for added peace of mind. Outsourcing your company’s shredding to a service such as Datashredders also frees up dozens of valuable staff hours to work on more profitable tasks.

In this day and age, even information which seems inconsequential to you could be hugely beneficial to your business’s competitors and rivals. But simply by making a few small changes to staff habits, making sound investments in security and by putting data destruction into the hands of professionals such as Datashredders, you can protect your business from data theft.