The flow of data is everywhere in our technology-centric world, but particularly here locally in San Francisco. Chances are whatever you’re doing right now is actively relying on data. All businesses, regardless of size or industry, need to ensure strong data protection practices are in place. You might be wondering if your current data protection practices are adequate enough. If so, you should ask yourself a few questions to determine if you need stronger data security.

Is Security Software Installed?

Every business should be using security software to protect their data assets.  If your company doesn’t have, at a minimum, a virus scanner, anti-spam, and a firewall in place, you probably aren’t paying enough attention to other security issues. It’s a good time to evaluate and rectify your data security practices ASAP.

Are Data Backups Routinely Done?

Consider what would happen if you were to try to pull up an aggregated sales report, customer records, or yesterday’s transactions and they were gone? How would this impact your business? Chances are you’d say it would be pretty severe. Data is a valuable asset and—in the event a natural disaster, fire, system crash or cyberattack occurs—a backup could save your company. But it may appear costly and many businesses wonder how much is needed. Here are a few tips:

  • Classify critical and non-critical data
  • Do a risk assessment to identify your biggest threats
  • Conduct a business impact analysis to examine how these events would impact your business.

Once you understand these, you can determine the best backup solution for your company.

Have We Established a Good Security Protocol?

Every business, large or small, should have a strong security protocol.

  • Security policy: Do you have a written security policy? This is important because it ensures everyone across the board in your organization knows how they should be handling data and what to do in the event of a breach.
  • Compliance: Are you well-versed in the laws or regulatory requirements related to data management in your industry? You don’t want to be inadvertently in violation. Non-compliance is taken seriously and comes with a high penalty.
  • Security assessments: If you aren’t sure of how to do a security assessment, you’ll want to learn how. Essentially, you’ll want to do an audit to ensure all your proverbial security bases are covered. If you miss an important safeguard, it could prove to be disastrous.

Securing data is an essential part of doing business. According to research, you’re “more likely” to experience a data breach of at least 10,000 records than to catch flu this winter. Not taking preventative action can lead to loss of business, decreased consumer confidence, violation of laws, and financial penalties, all of which negatively impact business. For more information on data security for your business, contact Golden Gate Office Solutions today!