Utilizing the power of digital media to store business data such as financial records, customer information, sales statistics, and marketing material is a no-brainer in this day and age. However, doing so doesn’t come without its complications. Human error, hardware failure, theft, malware, and ransomware are some of the countless causes of data loss.
Taking the time to ensure your data is secure and safe from these threats is a priceless investment. By understanding the data you hold and how to maintain its integrity, you can effectively implement the best security procedures and backup routines.
Understanding Your Data
In order to determine how much time and money you should put into protecting your data, consider its importance. How valuable is it to your business, and how much damage would be caused by the loss of this data? Knowing exactly where all of it is stored is also important.
Do staff members have their own copies? Is there a central location where the data is held, such as a server? Or is it spread across numerous locations such as memory sticks and mobile devices? Keep track of these locations to ensure that nothing remains vulnerable after security measures have been put in place.
Certain types of data, such as customer’s financial information, is extremely important to protect. Failure to ensure the safety of this data puts your customers at risk, as well as your business. You’re obliged by law to protect it. Other critical information such as employee records, accounting information, and market intelligence is also extremely valuable.
Knowing How This Data Is Used
When we talk about business data, we’re not only referring to what you archive and store – but also the data that’s constantly in use. Your employees are most likely accessing some data on a daily basis, such as customer and stock information.
Consider how this data is transferred. How much of it is available online via email, cloud storage, and streaming? How much of it is transferred within your business, such as via hard drives and over your server? You need to know how this data moves, who accesses it, how often it’s accessed, and where it’s stored when no longer in use.
Knowing How Your Data Is At Risk
There are three main ways in which your business risks data loss: Human error, physical threats, and malicious action.
Human error, while potentially catastrophic, is usually the least harmful. Staff members can accidentally erase or modify data when working with it. To prevent this, simply implement effective backup and rollback functions to ensure the original data is always accessible.
It’s not often that your business will experience data loss due to a physical error but protecting yourself against it is still essential. It’s impossible to predict when a hard drive will fail, or when a fire will break out in your server room. This is where backups will prove their worth.
Data loss as a result of malware, ransomware, theft, and hackers is perhaps the most frightening of all threats. It’s impossible to predict and can cause permanent damage to your business, staff, suppliers, clients, and customers.
This can happen in a variety of ways. Staff computers can obtain viruses over the internet, with some being able to delete files. Hackers can utilize ransomware to put your business in a stressful situation, forcing you to choose between gambling your funds and permanently losing important data.
Malware can not only erase your data but also transmit it over the internet, allowing unauthorized access. Malicious action can also take place within your business. Employees could delete your data or sell it to competitors.
Luckily, there are numerous ways you can protect your business against these types of threats.
How You Store Your Data
Data security starts with, and largely depends on the way you store it. Generally speaking, the more places your data is kept, the more at risk it is of unauthorized access. Having everything stored in a central location, with additional backups, is generally the preferred method.
While a central storage location reduces the risk of theft, it also means that there is a single point of failure. This is where backups come in handy. How you choose to back up your data largely depends on how much time and money it’s worth to you.
Traditional methods such as physical storage are generally easier and more affordable, but it does put your data at risk of theft and physical loss, not to mention the time it takes to store and access when needed. Backing up your data through a reliable and trustworthy online service such as azure backups is highly advisable.
Not only are online backups easier to access across multiple devices in any location, but also more secure – assuming you use the right service. You also don’t need to worry about misplacing or breaking any drives. Implement a frequent, efficient, and comprehensive backup plan that allows you to quickly and securely backup your data as soon as it’s no longer in use.
How You Protect Your Data
This comes down to general maintenance and keeping an eye on how your data is used. Ensure that all security software is always up to date and that the software you choose to use is what it claims to be. In recent times, numerous antivirus software companies have been found to be participating in malicious business practices.
Ensure that your employees can be trusted with the data they have access to and that security measures have been put in place to prevent unauthorized access. Communicate with your staff and ensure that they understand the importance of keeping the data they access safe at all times.
Conclusion
Aim for efficiency by determining the value of your data. This way you won’t be making any unnecessary hard drive purchases, software installations, and cloud backups.
Implementing all the necessary security measures and backup procedures may prove to be a headache in the beginning. But once the initial set up process is complete, and a routine has been put in place, you can rest assured that your data will be much safer.
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