Protecting your personal data online is complicated enough, but when it comes data security inside a big company, we are talking about a whole new level of complexity. A couple of years ago, the World Quality Report of 2015-2016 listed security testing as the main priority and concern for IT companies around the globe. Things are even worse today, not just because big companies have begun to use external application to handle their workflows and processes, but also because their employees are bringing their personal devices, such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets to work, which complicates the already complex security landscape even further.
On top of that, email is still responsible for over 92% of malware attacks, which is something that is exploited every day by hackers and cyber-criminals. If you have a big company which you would like to protect from data theft, here are nine great security tips that can help you keep it secure.
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Use Strong Passwords
According Melissa Chambers, who works as a security specialist for BestEssayTips, implementing strong passwords in your company should be your first line of defence against cyber-attacks. While there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes a strong password, a good rule of thumb would be to make it a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and between eight and 12 characters in length. You should also make sure that each employee has a unique password for each of the devices and applications they are using.
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Make Sure to Update Your Software Regularly
Regardless of how expensive your security applications are, they can only be truly effective if they are updated on a regular basis. Cybercriminals never take a day off, and neither should your security software. The same goes for other application software, as well as your operating system, which should be updated and maintained constantly.
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Protect Your Laptops
Laptops are a popular choice for most companies, since employees can take them home and complete their work there. However, due to the mobile nature, they are a serious security risk. Make sure to tell your employees to never leave their laptop in a car. Also, make sure that each company laptop is encrypted, so even if it does get stolen, it will be useless to thieves, since they won’t be able to read the data on it without a password.
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Protect Your Mobile Phones
Despite their relatively small size and portability, smartphones are as powerful as yesterday’s computers, which means they can hold as much data as laptops. In fact, the situation is even more drastic, since they can be stolen even more easily. As laptops, they should also be encrypted and protected with a strong password, and in addition to that, you should also install remote wiping software, which allows your company to access the phone and erase all the data in a matter of minutes.
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Lock Your Server Room
On the opposite end of the spectrum, in terms of scale and power, are your company servers, which should be protected physically as well. Make sure that the server is locked at all times if there is nobody in the room, because if someone was to simply waltz into the server room, they could gain access to your entire IT infrastructure and do some serious damage.
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Secure Your Printers
Most printers nowadays store the contents of the documents they have already printed inside their on-board memories. This means that, if they were to get stolen, thieves could easily print out the documents and gain access to sensitive company data. As in the case of servers, printers should be kept in a secure location, and ideally, bolted down. Also, make sure to have a policy of destroying all discarded documents.
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Disable External Drives and USB Ports
One way of protecting your data would be to prevent your employees, and everyone else for that matter, from copying it to floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, USB drives, and external hard drives. You can choose to disconnect them, use software protection, disk locks, or even disable them permanently by filling in the ports with glue or something else.
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Install Surveillance
All of the measures we have listed are not 100% secure, because someone could still break into your office or server room, or one of your disgruntled employees could abuse their access privileges. In order to at least mitigate some of the damage and identify the culprit, you could opt for a variety of solutions, such as video surveillance, authentication systems with biometric scanning, smart cards, or a simple log book.
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Educate Your Staff
Finally, educating your employees about the best security practices and online habits might just be the most effective measure. Once they understand how their actions might affect the company, they will be more careful, especially when opening emails and taking their mobile devices with them.
Summary
If you decide to start implementing these security tips today, you can rest assured that your sensitive data, as well as the company itself, will be kept safe. Good luck!
