In today’s world, security is one of the biggest concerns for individuals and organizations alike. Many companies have been hacked and their customer information accessed without authorization. To protect your organization from a hack or data breach, it takes a strategic security approach. Therefore, here are some helpful tips you can use to help protect your business and your customers so they will never have to worry about getting hacked.
Keep Your Privacy Policies Up To Date
Privacy policies must be clear, concise, and transparent. They should provide information to customers on how you use their data. Ensure that all of your employees are trained in privacy policy handling and update them as needed. For example, if a new product or service is added then this would need to be outlined in the policy and it must be in plain language. Additionally, any changes to the terms and conditions of an existing product or service must be disclosed in the policy. The easiest way of writing it the right way is by getting a terms and conditions generator to do it for you. When you have a well-written and up-to-date privacy policy in place, this will go a long way towards protecting the personal information of your customers.
Use Data Encryption
Data encryption is a method used to protect data from unauthorized access. This method uses an algorithm to scramble information in such a way that it is unreadable when transferred over the internet or stored in an electronic device. For hackers to access this kind of information, they would need the decryption key which only authorized users to have. The best form of data encryption uses 256-bit keys, but anything above 128-bit should be secure enough for most cases. Data encryption can be implemented in several ways: software, hardware, and cloud services providers. Data encryption can also prevent malicious employees from accessing customer data while protecting sensitive business information from cyber attacks.
Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication
This type of authentication requires more than just a username and password. Typically, it will require something that the user has in their possession such as a physical key or an electronic device like a phone. The most common form of multi-factor authentication is sending out security codes to the user’s email address or mobile phone number. This form of authentication can keep your customers’ data safe from hackers because even if they somehow hacked into your system, the hacker wouldn’t be able to access anything without also having the device used for multi-factor authentication.
Make Sure Your Business Is PCI Compliant
PCI compliance refers to the rules set forth by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (or PCI SSC). To get certified, many different steps must be completed such as getting different kinds of equipment and software, performing vulnerability scans and self-assessments regularly, and regularly checking for updates to the standards. The standards cover a wide range of areas such as what technology to use for credit card data processing, how to store and protect the information, and how frequently to recertify once it has been achieved. If you process credit card information, then you must be PCI compliant.ÂÂ
Use An SSL Certificate
The number one way to secure data sent over the internet is through the use of SSL certificates. SSL stands for “Secure Socket Layer” and it creates a secure connection between two endpoints like a web browser and a website. The most common form of SSL is known as “HTTPS”, which comes at the beginning of any URL that starts with “HTTPS://”. If you have an eCommerce website, using an SSL certificate will let your customers know that their information is protected from cyber attacks and hackers when they are browsing or purchasing products on your site. Also, if you are using WordPress for your website, there are several plugins available to help you get an SSL certificate, so make sure to get one if you don’t have it already.
Use A Reputable Cloud Service Provider
Having a reputable cloud service provider will go a long way towards protecting your business against cyber attacks. You want to make sure that they have a dedicated team of professionals monitoring the network 24/7 and performing vulnerability assessments regularly. Additionally, you should choose a company with a very proactive approach towards security because this can come in handy during times of crisis such as system updates or patches being released for issues found by hackers. So If you’re looking for an affordable way to protect your company’s data from cyber attacks, now is the time to switch over to cloud hosting.
Even if you don’t think you will get infected by ransomware, it’s still important that you are at least somewhat prepared for the worst-case scenario. Putting some of these tips into practice today could help save your business someday in the future when cyberattacks are even more prevalent than they already are. So make sure you utilize at least some of these great solutions and have peace of mind knowing your business is safe.
