business technology

3 Essential tips to protect your company data

data security
Written by Nigel Simpkins

As a business owner in the digital world, you’ll likely know that data protection is of critical importance. Many make the mistake of assuming that only the biggest companies will be targeted with it comes to data breaches, yet this just isn’t the case. One 2019 report via Verizon found that as high as 43% of cyber attacks actually target smaller companies. With this in mind, let’s jump in and take a look at some tips that you can use to protect your company.

Identity Access Management

IAM is concerned with controlling the access rights of all the network users associated with your business. The objective is that the right people have the correct access while unapproved users have no way of sneaking in! IAM solutions work via systems such as multifactor authentication, which is a method of login that requires at least two (or sometimes three) different factors of proof that you are who you say you are! The first type will generally be a strong password, and the second will be something that the employee has like a token device or a code that’s sent to their smartphone. Some companies go for a third method which involves scanning fingerprints, faces, or voice verification.

Document Management Systems

A document management system uses software and a computer system to store, track and manage electronic documents and images of scanned documents. DMS systems can allow you to have far better control over your sensitive documents. You can control the access of different docs and what’s more, you can see who has viewed a document, if it was modified and when the access was made. Systems like these are vital for making your data easier to manage and keep track of. If you use document management software, you’ll be ensuring the safest treatment of your data. In an increasingly digital world, these are the solutions that businesses are coming to rely upon.

A document management system uses software as a service solution and a computer system to store, track and manage electronic documents and images of scanned documents. DMS systems can allow you to have far better control over your sensitive documents. You can control the access of different docs and what’s more, you can see who has viewed a document, if it was modified and when the access was made.

School your staff

Human error could naturally compromise the security of your business, so the best thing to do is to create strong security policies and adequately train your staff so that they understand and follow these procedures. In addition to this, you may want to consider the use of mobile device management. MDM will mean that you can monitor your employee’s devices when they are logging onto company systems to work. When employees are completing work using their own devices, this spreads your data over a much wider space. If you have any employees who work remotely, MDM may be especially important to you. With this in mind, it’s vital to consider enhancing security to keep your data secure.

Ensuring that your data is encrypted is another way that you can minimise the damage should any data get stolen. With most cloud computing systems, this is generally the norm, yet you’ll want to check the system that you use to ensure this is the case. Lastly, conducting a security audit can be valuable to access any vulnerabilities in your security systems and set them right. An IT professional will be able to conduct this for you. Stronger security systems allow you to relax and get on with growing your small business.