10 Feb Your Employees Can Compromise Data Security
As a business owner you are ultimately in charge of securing your data. You may think you have done “the right things” and invested a lot of money to ensure your company’s data is secure, however, there is an area that many owners often overlook that can end up being a weakness to your data security; your employees.
Employees can compromise your data security on a number of levels. A simple mistake by a new hire can result in a data breach, a malware uploaded or worse. Here are a few areas that every owner should be aware of to ensure that your data security is protected on all levels. Most importantly, from your employees.
Start With Proper Training
This is one is by far the most important. Educating your staff on how to avoid security problems and making sure everyone is on the same level of understanding is the best place to start. In this day and age, all employees have access to your company’s network at some point in time. Having an IT Support company come in and speak to everyone about how to avoid uploading any malware is something that should be done at least once a year. Ideally this should be done every time there is a a new hire. Today, malware does not look especially suspicious. However, with some knowledge and training, your employees will be able to better spot the threats if they know what to look for. IT Support companies deal with this all day everyday and are your best defense at getting your employees to see the dangers before they happen.
Restrict Access
This one sounds like a no brainer but many owners want to trust their employees right away to create a pleasant work environment. This type of risk may not be worth the reward. Restricting access is a smart way to limit the amount of people that could potentially disrupt your data security. You can make sure that your most sensitive data is secured by talking with your IT Support company. They will set up your network so that only those that need it have access to sensitive information, giving you valuable peace of mind.
Work Remotely Properly
There are lots of ways you can log into your network with free apps off the internet. If you can do that, so can anyone else. Working remotely is becoming in demand. It can provide better work life balance, allow for easier business travel and can even allow for talented hires from different countries or states. Allowing for an employee to access the company network should come with a understanding of the responsibilities from that employee. This privilege should not be given lightly. Additional training should be provided and even an extra legal document, ensuring that that employee is accessing that information in a responsible manner. A consultation with your IT Support company can verify that your company has all the proper precautions put in place if you are considering remote access.
Don’t DIY Data Security
Small business owners are often trying to save costs by doing things themselves. Cyber and data security is an area that most people know very little about except for what’s in the news. When you are involving multiple employees with different tech skill levels it is more cost efficient and time efficient to hire a professional service to provide the proper training. As previously mentioned, cyber security is a growing concern among small and medium businesses precisely because owners will cut those costs and employees lack the proper training. They become easy targets for hackers. Make sure your company doesn’t become a target and talk to an IT Support company today.
