Technology has completely changed the world around us over the last three decades or so. Every single aspect of our daily lives, from reading the news to food shopping to staying in touch with friends and family, has become dominated by the internet and devices like smartphones. And businesses are no exception.
Everything about businesses has become digitized in recent years, including communicating with customers, marketing to audiences, and storing vital data and documentation. Unfortunately, this rise in technology has also seen a significant rise in the number of cybercrimes impacting both large and small businesses around the world.
This means it’s more important than ever that businesses take the necessary steps to secure their data, and thankfully there are several ways to do this. If you find the whole topic of cybersecurity overwhelming, don’t worry. We’ve roped in the experts at Syntax IT Support to talk us through the issue and explain how businesses can boost their security as cybercrime increases.
The importance of your data
You might be wondering, why exactly do hackers want my data in the first place? The answer is both simple and unnerving, as personal data is useful for committing further crimes like identity fraud, or accessing bank accounts. Data lists can also fetch a hefty price tag when sold on the dark web.
But it isn’t just personal data that is attractive to hackers. Business data can be extremely valuable too, such as information that allows hackers to access bank accounts or property assets, or details of upcoming business activities that can be taken advantage of.
There are many dark and disturbing ways for hackers to use data, both personal and commercial, which is why cyber crimes are increasing at such an alarming rate.
Taking the right steps towards security
In order to combat this rising trend of data breaches, more and more businesses are investing increasing resources in data security. This helps to safeguard brand reputation and maintain client trust.
Data security strategies focus on uncovering hidden risk areas so that they can be amended and secured. This might mean looking back at unprotected, compromised, or forgotten databases, and installing the necessary measures to help safeguard them.
This also has the added benefit of helping businesses adhere to privacy and data collection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, and the PCI-DSS standards for handling debit and credit card payments.
GDPR rules were announced in May last year, and call for businesses to be more careful with personal information than ever before. Adhering to these kinds of rules can help ensure that your business is secure enough to avoid being the target of a cybercrime.
Getting your staff on board
People are one of the best assets in fighting against cybercrime. You can be as careful as possible, but if your employees aren’t following suit then your business remains at risk. Make sure you take the time to educate your employees on the importance of cyber security, enlightening them on ways they can improve security on a day-to-day basis.
This might involve educating them on password strength. The ideal password should be suitably long and complex, with a mix of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and symbols. It should also be changed every few months, and staff shouldn’t use the same password for all their accounts.
It may also mean educating your team on how to spot a scam email, and what to do if such a situation arises.
About the author:
Tejas Maheta is the Founder of techiegenie.com and a tech geek. Besides blogging he love reading books, Learning new things, and Hanging out with friends.
