Advice from the resident IT Guy

Effective Tips to Secure Data For Your Small Business

Don't stress about data security--just follow these instructions!
Don’t stress about data security–just follow these instructions!

Protecting your data from online intruders is very important, and it becomes so much more important if that data is for your business. If you think that security breaches on your network is something you can live with, think again. According to a study made on this matter, about 80 percent of small business that have suffered a security breach eventually go bankrupt. That’s an alarming figure and one that you don’t want to be a part of. Make sure that you have some type of business Antivirus software installed so that this does not happen to you.

You should take the security of your PCs and your network seriously. Here are some tips to help protect your sensitive business data:

Do an inventory of your data

You need to find out where your data is located. Are they all in your PCs? Are there sensitive data stored in your laptop or on flash drives? Inventory where all of your business data are located.

Separate sensitive data from non-sensitive data

Now that you’ve located all of your data, identify which ones are sensitive/important information and segregate it from non-essential data. Place all of it in one place, preferably in a place that is separate from network. According to data security experts, the less copies of sensitive data there are, the easier it is to protect.

Use encryption to protect your data

To protect your data from prying eyes, use powerful encryption to scramble it and prevent people from easily accessing your data. Encryption is a very effective security step. In fact, even if your network or your computers get compromised, the thieves will have a very hard time to crack your data, if they crack it at all.

Implement security measures over your system

Make sure that you have a secure and encrypted connection over your system especially if you do online transactions or sensitive data like financial information is transmitted or sent over your network. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protection is a very important addition to your network and also worth the investment. You should also put up a strong firewall and ensure that your wireless connection in the office is secure.

Additional security measures should also be implemented for mobile devices like laptops. Make sure that all of the laptops in your company are secured by a password. If it is not being used, secure the laptops inside locked cabinets or drawers. One good practice when using your laptop outside the office is to connect to the internet using your mobile phone through tethering. This way, you won’t have to connect to public WiFi hotspots.

Institute a strong security policy in your company

You need to inculcate a culture of protection and security in your company. This means having a strong security policy in place – one that all of your employees know.

These are just some tips that will surely help you secure your sensitive office data and protect the integrity of sensitive information that is vital to your business.