Protecting data helps reduce the risk of cyber attacks that could affect your company or personal image. It is crucial to understand the best practices for protecting your sensitive data and to follow the guidelines. A breach of your private information could lead to lawsuits and fines that could have long-term consequences for you or your organization.
Password protection for all your devices and files This simple step can help deter hackers from accessing your information. Use strong passwords using complex combinations of numbers, letters and symbols. Change default passwords offered by the vendor to stronger passwords whenever you can. Make sure to use the most current anti-virus software and conduct a full security scan of your system and servers.
Don’t share confidential or personally identifiable information via email. This includes Social Security numbers, bank account information passwords, passwords, etc. Email is not secure and can be accessed by unfriendly parties.
Be sure that your network and data are secure. Ensure that your computers, laptops, and portable storage devices are protected by using strong encryption when sending information to third parties and to safeguard the information stored on these devices. It is also crucial to create a plan for how you will respond to a cyber-attack that includes who you will be notified and what you’ll do (e.g. employees customers, credit bureaus, and employees).
You should make sure you have backups of all your data – Keep offline copies of the most important data in separate locations from the ones where your primary copies are kept. This will stop hackers from gaining access to your primary copy, or from eliminating it.